MImpossible Volume II: The Adventures
by MIMitationBalance
Summary: Let the saga continue! The Guardians, all 6 of them, have recovered from their last great adventure, yet more is still to come! The spirit world is bigger than you dared to imagine and there are not enough stories to see everything! But I can try. Why will nobody read this? NEW one shot challenge! Challenge posted: 10/10/14
1. Naughty Naughty Part 1

Mim sat in an armchair in her room at the North Pole. The room had white walls and a canopy bed. One wall was a giant window, so she could be both outdoors and indoors. Gotta be balanced right? Another wall was a giant mirror. The floor had a black wood flooring. The only pieces of furniture were her bed, chair and desk. Everything was detailed in black and white, her signature colors. But do not think that the room was boring. For while there was little furniture, the walls had pictures and paintings filled with color. They were everywhere. There was one with her and Jack flying, the Guardians opening Christmas presents by Jack's lake, and one of the Lady Dark.

In the armchair, Mim was reading a book, with Jack sitting on her windowsill listening while making flurries outside. The month was May and 3 months had past since Mim had freed Lady Dark and stopped Pitch from creating a permanent solar eclipse. Mim read aloud with Jack sometimes. The world was uneventful right now, and the Guardians had returned to some semblance of normalcy.

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." She read.

"How does that make sense? How can something be more equal?" Jack piped up. The sun out side was rising for about and hour before it set again. The 6 months of darkness in the North Pole were coming to an end.

"I'm not quite sure. This was the summer reading I had before I became a spirit. It looked interesting enough." Mim replied as she became a redhead with golden clothing, for the rising sun. She frowned at the cover for a second before tossing the book aside. By copying a telekinesis power, she floated it to her desk.

"What do you say to us going and having some fun?" Jack called distantly. Mim turned to see him floating outside her giant window on her balcony. He jumped off backward and dropped out of sight.

"Oh no you don't!" She yelled after him. Taking a running start, she sprinted out her window and dove over the balcony railing as if she were diving into a body of water. She could see Jack ahead of her. She knew she couldn't catch up. Physics ya know? But instead she concentrated and turned into a blazing girl of fire. Shooting blast down, she forced Jack to divert his path. Then she tackled him!

They laughed in the snow as they tumbled head over heels until they hit a glacier. The laughter didn't stop for another 15 minutes, to the point where they struggled to draw breath. Jack calmed down first.

"Wanna practice?"

It was a question Mim heard often. Ever since Dark had been defeated, Jack had been working with Mim to hone her ice powers. The catch with Mim was that she could never be as skilled as the person she copied. But she could learn on her own. Jack sat across from her and formed a large ball of solid ice. Her goal was to make a copy of it. Everyday the ball got bigger. On the first day it was no bigger than a marble. Today it was the size of a bowling ball.

Mim's hair turned white and her eyes turned blue. Holding out her hands, she focused on cold and coldness. Ice and snow and frost and chills. A ball formed in her hands and grew very slowly. It almost reached the size of Jack's but it began to shake.

"C'mon, you can do it. Focus on winter emotions." Jack coaxed.

_Okay! Cool serenity...inner warmth with outer cold..._

The ball grew the last inch or so in diameter. Jack grinned. He took both of them and then dropped them. His remained solid, but hers shattered. She sighed and looked at the snow.

"Hey, it's cool! You'll get it next time." Jack encouraged.

"That's the third time we've done a ball that size, Jack!" Mim said, exasperated. Jack thought for a moment.

"I know what will cheer you up! TARGET PRACTICE!"

That got Mim's attention. She loved target practice. Jack formed a ton of targets, varying in size and height and distance. He formed some icicles and Mim did the same. The began to throw them at the targets. One of Jack's beat Mim's to a target making it shatter. but Mim got revenge by catching one of Jack's icicles in flight with her own breaking it! Things escalated and they were soon in all out battle. Ice King vs. his copycat queen! He had mastery of the element, but she was creative and soon had a great snow catapult that could bury him in snow.

They got so wrapped up in their game that hours passed until a snowball forced them to look up and see the northern lights.

Mim grew wings, and grabbed Jacks hands in the snow. Flinging him into the air, they soared to the Workshop doors. Before they could enter the Globe room Jack grabbed Mim around her waist. In the hall just outside, he held onto her and leaned against the wall. He kissed her and for a few minutes she allowed him to get it for free.

"They'll be looking for us."

"They can wait." Jack responded.

Mim cocked and eyebrow and kissed him this time.

"OI! Lovebirds! You're late!" Bunny yanked them apart by the hoods on their clothes and escorted them inside. Bunny had loosened up a bit but he still ratted on Jack for getting a girlfriend. Jack had retorted by saying Bunny was jealous. Mim ended up shutting them up. But not with powers. She did it the good old' fashioned way: with duct-tape. Bunny's mouth was still a little thin on fur.

"What's the big news North?" Tooth called. A group of six fairies had arrived with her. Baby Tooth flew over to greet Jack and Mim. Mim had to transform into a partial tooth fairy just to understand her.

"We have minor disturbance in Central Park. Groups of kids are becoming naughty and we don't know why."

"Were they always naughty mate? Or is this a sudden thing?" Bunny asked.

"All these children were on "NICE" list. Now they act badly. Some are teens." North countered.

"Well, it sounds interesting! Let's check it out!" Mim said, excited for a small brawl.

All the Guardians headed out in their different ways. Tooth flew at high speeds and Jack rode the winds. Bunny jumped to the ground and tunneled into the earth. Sandy was hopping a ride on a large dreamsand pterodactyl. North of course had the sleigh. Mim went mermaid and took to the sea. Bunny would usually arrive first. Then Jack and Mim and Tooth, followed by Sandy and North.

Mim joined a pod of dolphins as they hopped from the waves. Her tail copied the deep cerulean blue of the waters as she sped south. Soon she was entering American waters and she hopped out of the waters under the Brooklyn Bridge and flew the rest of the way to Central Park.

She caught up with Tooth and they flew the rest of the way together. Conversation turned to life and plans.

"As the only girls in the group, we should do something sometime." Tooth suggested.

"I would love to! What to do though?" Mim responded.

"Hmmm...OH we could go memory hopping!"

"What's memory hopping?" Mim inquired.

"Oh it's so much fun. You get to go live in some memories. I found a great memory of a spa day!"

"I'm assuming this is like a substitute for not actually being able to go out and do this stuff, right?" Mim said smiling.

"Kind of!" Tooth said and they giggled.

* * *

**A/N: Yay the beginning of Volume II! I'm excited and I drew the cover photo. It's all on deviantart under my fanfic username. This one will be more short stories and stuff. I love suggestions! Reviews anyone?**

**-Mimic**


	2. Naughty Naughty Part 2

The entrance into Central Park was simple. They quite literally walked right in. Since all the adults couldn't see them, it wasn't difficult to be stealthy. The first group of kids they encountered were bullying a single boy who looked about 8. Immediately the Guardians stepped in. Jack whooshed up a strong wind which knocked the bullies off their feet. Mim dropped down from the trees in the form of a large hawk and pulled the young boy up into the safety of the tree's branches. Sandy put the boys to sleep and gave them dreams of guilt at what they had done. Mim returned the boy to the ground.

"Whoa! Santa! Easter Bunny! Tooth Fairy! Sandman! Jack Frost!" boy looked like he was about to faint. Jack was surprised that the small, skinny blonde boy could see him. He was still pretty low on the radar when it came to believers.

The big 5 answered a bunch of questions from the boy. He jumped up and down and soon Bunny had to put a paw on his head so he would stay on the ground. The kid looked so excited that the Guardians almost forgot why they were there.

"I must apologize young lad," said North, "but we must be going!"

"One more question!" the boy piped up, "What's the name of the pretty girl that saved me?"

Mim gasped! How could he see her? There were no legends of her. She had only been a spirit for about a year. Getting walked through was still new to her. How could this boy...know her?

"Her name is Mim." said Jack, just as shocked and curious as Mim...and everyone else.

"Oh! Where is she? Tell her I say thanks!" the boy said ecstatically.

Tooth laughed. "Tell her yourself." she said, as she turned the boy around to face Mim, who was smiling ear to ear.

"Where is she? Is she still in the tree?" the boy called up into the large oak, "HELLO!"

The smile hung for a moment, until the words sank in. Mim began to feel sad and sad meant tears and tears led to...

"No!" Jack called out and lunged for her. But he was too late. She sank into a puddle. The boy looked startled and looked up into the sky to see if it had started raining and he didn't notice. He saw the water and saw her turn from a hawk to a girl. Why couldn't he see her now? A female voice called out from a flower garden a little ways away. The boy perked up.

"That's my mom! I was great meeting you guys! By the way, the bullies punched my tooth out. Do you want it now?" he said turning to Tooth.

"You know I can't stand it when people remove teeth with force unless it's by a dentist!" she ranted as she exchanged it tooth for a dollar. The boy ran off to his mother waving it proudly in the air. Not really a good idea in such a city.

Jack sighed and froze the Mim/puddle. The then formed it back into a human form. It then melted and solidified back into Mim.

"Thanks Jack."

* * *

The closer they got to the center of Central Park, the worse it got . Jack iced the lips of two sets of teens, who were doing...stuff. They had to stop a group of 10 year old from robbing a ice cream stand and gorging themselves on the ice cream. Another teen was beating up a smaller kid for insulting his pride. Even then, another group of kids was fighting over who was going to go and get water, they were all too lazy!

After being confronted, the kids acted normal and went back to their parents or friends, slightly dazed, but fine. All of these children were good kids. What was affecting the kids in Central Park? In the middle of Central Park, there is a small green, in between the lake and the reservoir. As the sun began to set and people packed up and went home for dinner, the green became more and more empty...save for seven people. Obviously spirits.

The first was a large, hulking mass of robotics and flesh. He was equipped with more weapons than imaginable, and wore a sullen frown that seemed permanently etched into his face. His jawline looked like a weapon in and of itself, it was so straight and strong. His dark chocolate hair fell partially in his face. It did not seem to bother his vision, perhaps due to the cybernetic eye.

The second and third seemed closely connected. Both had hair so blond that it might've been translucent. Garbed in green vests, the rest of their clothing was either gray or black. One was a boy, of about 17, the other was a girl, around the same age. What truly caught attention, was the metal. The boy had a metal plate covering his mouth, with a single slit. The girl had a metal headpiece which completely covered her ears and held back wisps of her blonde hair. The sat together. The girl spoke with the others. The boy did not, which was not surprising.

The fourth wore pink and yellow and grinned. She seemed to be 12 or 13. She seemed so happy and youthful. She did not seem to fit with this unsavory bunch. She had chestnut hair and wove white gloves. She sat on her heels like a child, but her limbs were long and awkward like that of a growing teen. The would gesture with her hands and knock into her companions, which they seemed to be adept at dodging.

The fifth was large but did not seem muscular. He lay on his stomach eating food without ceasing. He was shirtless and wore green pants that stood out with his neon hair and multiple tattoos.

The sixth was female and wore fully body suit. It was navy blue and zip up boots went to her knees. Her neck, face and hands were the only parts of her that showed creamy, pale skin. Her brown hair was braided up into a long French braid down the back of her head. She sat on her hands and was very, very still.

The last and seventh, seemed to be enjoying herself the most. Her ginger hair swept up into a ponytail. She wore a purple dress with an EXTREMELY short hemline and EXTREMELY tight shorts underneath. The purple dress had a corset front and curved down into the middle of her chest. Strapless of course.

The Guardians went and sat on a patch of the green 20 feet from these 7 characters. They sat and chatted like any group of friends, all the while keeping a discreetly keen eye on them.

Mim noticed them rise and signaled the others by rubbing her eye which turned red. Bunny felt a tap on his shoulder. Her turned his head, but couldn't. He couldn't move. The girl in navy still had her hand on Bunny's shoulder. Cocking a smirk, she stared down her nose at the Guardians.

"Sup' G's?" she said with a voice that was measured but cold. The holes in Mim's top closed and gloves extended onto her hands. Her eyes turned and amber gold. She was on her guard. The Guardians were on their feet.

"I assume we can thank you for all the naughty children, da?" North said. The massive cyborg stepped forward.

"Got a problem with that gramps?" he snarled.

"Frankly, yes." Jack pressed him back with his staff, frosting some of his circuits. The cyborg grabbed the end of Jack's staff. The two glared at each other until small snapping noises could be heard from the wood in the old staff. A whip of dreamsand made the gunslinger flinch. A moment of tense suspension gripped the scene. And then it was 6 on 7 in the middle of Central Park.

The boy with the metal mouth plate, grasped the back of Jack's neck, only to be tackled by a black bear. But then the twin girl of the green boy, was shooting ice at Tooth. She was brawling with the other large guy in the group, who had grown extra arms. Bunny could move again and battled the redhead. She was shoot darts from a dart gun. She blew with good aim from cherry red lips. When she found out she couldn't hit him, she flipped back ward to reveal the navy chick who had broken free from Sandy. She moved toward Bunny who knew better than to let her touch him. HE dodged and ducked, moving around North who pushed up against the gunslinger guy.

The ginger snuck up behind Jack and began whispering in his ear. Jack scrunched up his eyes and moved away. She chased him and grabbed his wrists. He fell into a stupor. The girl smiled and let go. Jack's eyes caught the green girl popping up from tunnels and grabbing Mim, dragging her underground. His mind cleared and he shot ice to cover the latest hole in the ground. Green girl pounded her fists against the ice until her male counterpart ran over and, tagging North along the way. He smashed the ice and the 7 of them dropped into the hole and vanished.

"Bunny can we follow them?" Tooth spat out, in between gasps for breath.

"Nah, mate. There's no intercepting a tunnel."

...

...

"We need to research other spirit groups or organizations." Jack said at last. Everyone nodded at once and headed to the sleigh, too tired to travel on their own.

* * *

**A/N: Post who you think these new peeps are in the REVIEWS! Well...go on, do it.**

**-Mimic**


	3. Naughty Naughty Part 3

In a city alley, seven figures lean against the brick walls of the two building on either side. The red head leans with her hip cocked out and a hand on her waist. She blew a few wispy hairs out her eyes.

"Ever wonder what makes those pathetic Guardians so...good." she called in a purring voice.

"Ever wonder what makes us so...not good." said the girl in green. She seemed to have two voices. It was unnerving.

The group burst into chuckles. They didn't care. They were not good! It was the simple fact of the matter. The green girl stood with her twin. To the right of them was the hulking cyborg who seemed to be brooding. He ALWAYS seemed to be brooding, that is, if he wasn't trying to crush your head. The ginger approached him.

"C'mon brute! Lighten up! That is my specialty after all..."

"Keep it together chicklet." the other large male called from across the alley. They all laughed at that again. This chick wasn't meant to keep it together. The She c girl in navy walked up and tapped the cyborg on the shoulder, as he was about to go punch out the guy who commented on redhead. This immediately froze him in place against the wall.

"Never mind her. We need to deal with these Guardians. They rule this joint! When will we get to have some fun!" she complained, whilst gesturing with her hands. The boy in green ducked to avoid her fingers. His twin was the one who spoke up.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry..." navy girl said pulling in her hands, " they deserve a break, a long one, so for once, we can have a go at the world." she glared about her teammates. They all nodded but without much interest. She looked to the redhead, who seemed to have good influence in the group.

"Well...it would be a chance to have at that cutie with the white hair!" she smirked. The guys looked at her poisonous eyes and began to agree. The green guy agreed too, just silently. Miss ginger smiled in triumph. She always got what she wanted with boys.

"Question is how do we crush 'em!" the large gunslinger growled.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find away. We only need to trap them." green girl said with her strange two voices.

They left the alley and went to outskirts of Manhattan. They stood looking over the Brooklyn Bridge. They joked about all the trouble they had caused and how they could cause more. The naughtiest young people ever. After staring at the waves, the large guy who could grow extra arms motioned to his team mates.

"Check it! None of those Man in Moon bozos specializes in water." he pointed down to the waters below.

"Don't be an idiot! I bet they can swim, I mean, come on!" green girl cut through.

"Wait E, I think he might be onto something. If we trap them deep underwater, we might have a chance at a little time for fun." green girl said again, but with her other voice. She turned and frowned at her twin.

Talk turned to how they would do it, how they would get the Guardians trapped, and how to keep them detained. These were simple trouble makers, not masterminds like Pitch. It took them a while to figure out the details. But eventually it got done and they all split to do what he or she had agreed to do.

Cyborg angry dude, opened up underwater gear and walked down into the deep blue sea of Long Island Sound. He began to weld and fix up cages. A long skinny one for Bunny, a wide one for North, a petite one for Tooth, an itty bitty one for Sandy and a cage attached to a heater for Jack. For Mim, he made one with mesh so she couldn't transform into a small fish and swim out. The twins and navy girl visited the houses of some particular kids. The got the addresses from a very gossipy spirit named Mythos. With a touch and a tap, the kids were paralyzed. Not only could navy girl paralyze. She was super fast. The kids were locked in a lighthouse out on the Long Island Sound.

Redhead wrote a letter dotted in hearts to the North Pole, with all this interesting information. The trap was set and they were ready to spring it. Now all they had to wait for the Guardians to receive and react.

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Ughhhhhh. How long will this take? I'm bored and want some action!" The green girl sighed in frustration.

"E, it's been twenty minutes." the others all called in her direction.

"Yeah, well my name isn't Patience." she countered.

These seven mischief makers waited and waited, and the Guardians would get their letter...but not yet. First he 6 of them would comb all the resources available to them to find out who is being such a pain. Not only were these 7 going to be a pain, they were gonna be a pain for a VERY long time. After all, it's very difficult to get rid of them and soon enough, North came rushing into the library, waving an envelope in the air.

* * *

**A/N: How are you guys liking the sequel so far? Any guesses as to these 7 weirdoes can go in the reviews I want to see what you guys think. A shout out to Caithlinn13 who has been a faithful follower from the very beginning. Please check out her stories! I can guarantee awesomeness! **

**Today, I have a question for you guys! The first person to guess correctly, gets an OC in an upcoming one-shot. **

**What is the name of the Spirit of Spring in the MImpossible universe?**

**PS. Caithlinn13 I already have an OC planned for you, so keep those lips zipped. (You probably know the answer, so SHUSH!)**

**-Mimic**


	4. Naughty Naughty Part 4

The Guardians scoured the library for any knowledge on mythical groups and organizations. They also tossed around knowledge of their own to see if any fit the description of the 7 trouble makers. They flipped pages and skimmed books as the hours wore on. Tooth looked at the books in the uppermost shelves. Her wings hummed above the clattering below. Mim zipped around at super-speed creating a small whirlwind, ruffling all the papers. Jack got so frustrated at finding nothing that all the books he looked at were frozen shut by the time he was finished.

"HEY! I found something on us!" Tooth called.

"Well, it's obviously not us!" Bunny yelled back.

"The Council of Fours?" Jack added in.

"Nah! There's seven of them." Mim responded as she sped past.

Seasonals, Elementals, Holidays! There was lots of information on them! But so far, there was nothing on the sinister seven. North left to go check on something the yetis had found. The other kept checking at a fast pace as the day moved forward.

"Gosh we're gonna be here forever!" Jack called, getting more and more bored by the minute, "Libraries are deadly. I'm gonna die of boredom."

At the word "deadly" Mim stopped her speedy cycles around the room. She closed her eyes and concentrated. That word struck a chord and she couldn't remember how. Sandy walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. She waved him away, motioning that she was fine.

_Deadly Seven...Deadly Seven...Seven Deadly...YES! That's it!_

"Seven Deadly Sins!" Mim announced after her contemplation.

The search ceased and then resumed as all the Guardians present grabbed books on the spirits of the Seven Deadly Sins. Information poured in as identifications, histories and analyses. The group was fairly recent and was not present in ancient texts except as an idea.

"The Redhead is Lust." Bunny declared as he held up an illustration of the curvy ginger surrounded by men and boys who were kneeling or laying by her feet.

"She has powers of manipulation of poison especially over males." Bunny read aloud. Tooth and Mim shared a meaningful look as the only two girls in the Guardians. Jack seemed to become very uncomfortable. He and Mim were closer than people could imagine but he didn't want that to be ruined by some super powered lady freak. He fidgeted in his seat on the carpeted floor. Tooth and Mim giggled as Bunny looked so disgusted.

"Well that won't work on me! I'm a Pooka and therefore immune to her HUMAN wiles."

"Are you going to follow all your immunities by the words 'because I'm a Pooka' Bunny?" Tooth sighed in mock exasperation. Bunny read on as if he hadn't heard her comment, which had earned snickers from rest of the group. Lust's weapon was a dart gun, but she more often entranced men instead. If her voice didn't do it, her touch did. It wasn't permanent, but had messed up quite a few important relationships in recent history.

"Okay, next we have Greed and Envy." Mim spoke as she skimmed through an, ironically green, book, "Those must be the two horrible twins."

"Which is the guy and which is the girl?" Jack asked as her hugged her from behind and read over her shoulder. With a quick kiss on Jack's cheek, Mim read on. Greed was the guy and Envy was the girl. Greed was mute, a fact they had already observed, hence the metal plate, but Envy was deaf. But they were mentally linked, so Greed listened and Envy spoke. Bunny spotted a few ways that might make that a weakness.

Their powers were linked as well. Jack recalled how Greed had grabbed his neck, but then quickly retreated. Once Greed touched someone, he absorbed their powers or abilities. Envy could then use them for a 7 minute period. Then Greed would have to touch them again. Mim growled and fangs grew sharp as her minor anger manifested into wolfish qualities. A power similar to hers...and used for chaos. The thought disgusted her.

The list went on as the other members were revealed as well. The guy who grew extra arms could also clone himself, and represented Gluttony. A small group of tooth fairies in the library shuddered and a few fainted. He could clone but he was much bigger than them, and scarier looking. He could also grow and shrink, but shrink no smaller than his original size. Tooth frowned at his illustration, of him choking soldiers with his 8 arms.

"Hey Kangaroo, couldn't you grow extra arms?" Jack elbowed Bunny in the ribs. Bunny swatted his icy hand but nodded.

"I can with special chocolates, but I hardly make them anymore."

"Who can grow more, fairies or arms?" Mim jokingly teased. Bunny hid his face behind a book as Tooth laughed hysterically.

"He tried once to grow more arms than I have fairies. It was a disaster that I will never let him forget."

"MOVING ON!" Bunny yelled over her giggles.

Next came Sloth, or Laziness. Her touch, any skin contact, resulted in short term paralysis. She was a speedster too, being able to run fast. That would explain the body suit and no gloves. It wasn't just her hands but any skin contact.

"That doesn't make sense. How is 'lazy' fast?" Jack said, skeptical.

"Maybe it makes everyone slow and lazy by comparison?" Tooth responded.

Mr. Huge, Metal and Menacing turned out to be Wrath. He fit the description quite literally. He had a hot temper and no self control. He was a gunslinger who would crush anything that crossed him. Angry fit him well. His rage and weaponry made him difficult to defeat, no matter how skilled the opponent. Even the slightest jibe could push him over the edge and set off his furious attacks.

The last of the seven was the little girl who was clumsy and long-limbed. She was Pride. Her powers were far more subtle than the others. All of her illustrations put emphasis to the triangles on her forehead, chest, and palm. One showed the one on her forehead glowing and was captioned: Pride of the mind. She could make people forget things. The next showed the one on her chest: Pride of the heart. This said that she could harden the heart and freeze emotions. Mim gulped quietly. That would be an issue. The final depiction showed the triangles on the palms of her white gloves. Those were captioned: Pride of the works.

"Works?" Tooth inquired.

"Works like deeds, or stuff you do." Mim explained. Pride of the works. She could make you miss your target or distract you. But she could only do it to one person at a time.

North barged into the library waving an envelope. They other 5 brought him up to speed on the Seven Deadly Sins. He handed the letter to Jack who's eyes grew wider as he read on.

"They have Jamie, Sophie, Claude, Caleb, Pippa, Monty, and Cupcake!" He said. Mim felt his worry wash over her like a flood. Jack took off and the other's made the move to follow. But Mim latched onto Jack and turned to lead which effectively anchored Jack to the earth.

"No! First we need a strategy. This is a hostage situation, the kids could get hurt."

Everyone agreed, but no one expected the trap in store for the six of them.

* * *

**A/N: Pics of the 7 Sins will be up on deviantart under MIMitationBalance like all my other pics. No one has answered the question yet so I will leave it up here until we have a winner.**

**"What is the name of the Spring Spirit in the MImpossible universe?" **

**(Hint: look in Volume I) Winner gets a special OC and a one shot in this Volume!**

**Review?**

**-Mimic**


	5. Naughty Naughty Part 5 Final

"I see a sleigh!" Envy called from her perch on the shore of Long Island Sound. Greed had captured a bird down below, so Envy could glide down to the others without fear of losing her wings halfway down. The 7 Deadly Sins split up and got ready to spring their trap. Wrath stood guard over the light house holding the kids, but from afar. They had to convince the Guardians that the kids were trapped underwater. Wrath had recorded the kids calls for help into his internal systems and linked it to a speaker under the Sound. Once the Guardians neared the speaker, Envy would activate the cages. Greed had a fish in his hands to keep Envy from drowning. Gluttony was there if one of the Guardians didn't go into the water. Pride and Lust stood by to keep the hostages silent.

"Wouldn't want your precious Guardians knowing that you're in here right?" they said as Lust casually twirled her dart gun in her fingers. Pride simply looked menacing.

As the sleigh neared the Long Island Sound, Tooth and Jack hopped out and sped ahead, as the fastest fliers. They circled the area at speed so great, they appeared to be two blurs, one brightly colored, one blue and brown. Jack stopped and fired up an icy firework about a half mile from the sleigh. They met the Winter spirit out a mile away from shore, close to a red and white lighthouse. Mim flew out on fairy's wings.

"What did you find?" she called as she approached.

"U-Uh-Underwater..." he motioned with wide eyes.

Mim was about to dive, but the look on Jack's face stopped her.

Jack was shaking at the concept of underwater. She could feel unbridled chill and fright in his heart. His eyes saw what she could not see...a horrifying memory. Mim wrapped her arms around him. He clutched at her like she was his anchor in reality which, at the moment, she probably was. She squeezed tighter.

"Wake up. We need you here right now!"

His eyes lost their glazed appearance and he looked at the chopping waves with apprehension. Mim dove a feet into the water. She came up soaking wet but sure.

"I can hear them down there! But if they can scream, then they're in a closed cage. To get in, it will compromise the air. I can't get them all up myself in that time."

Seven kids and six Guardians. North agreed to take Cupcake and Claude. Tooth would grab Sophie, as she was the smallest. Bunny was ready to bring up Caleb. Sandy would take Monty. Jack would have Jamie and Mim would have Pippa. No one suspected that the kids were in the lighthouse, scared into silence by Pride and Lust. Mim turned to Jack once more.

"Do it for Jamie, I'll be right there with you."

He nodded, worried he would back out if he spoke. On the count of three, the group plunged into the murky, green depths.

Everything was playing out into the Sin's hands. The Guardians were underwater. Envy was concealed in the weeds close to the speaker. She saw the team of Guardians approaching, scanning the bottom for any signs of the kids. Closer...closer...closer...CLOSER...

Once the Guardians were within a couple meters of the muddy floor, she snapped the trap. Mim's mermaid tail got caught in the closing trap, she flinched in pain and returned to her human form, holding her ankle. North began rattling the bars and Bunny locked for a way to reverse trip the mechanism. Sandy made a saw and began to slowly saw through the cage, fighting against the water which slowed him. Jack began to panic and lashed about, wasting all of the oxygen in his blood. He began to black out, but all the water around him froze, keeping him from inhaling water.

Tooth acted the quickest, she pulled out her Christmas gift from Bunny and took a swig from the bottle of potion. It was enough to let her breath for about 5 minutes, but no more. She stoppered the potion and stowed it in the bag at her hip. Breathing deeply, she felt around for a lock but found none. She built up what little momentum and slid her wings between the closing crack in the cage, cutting the clip that held it shut. She repeated this, first for Mim who came to her senses and turned into a fish, and she swam jerkily to the surface. Bunny and North were freed next, they pushed to the air quickly. Sandy and Tooth each grabbed one of Jack's frozen hands and pulled him to the world, where he could breath. Mim dove once more and met them half way. Tooth waved her up, pointing to her injured ankle. Mim shook her head and her hands glowed.

Melting Jack's face, she put his mouth on hers and covered his nose. Exhaling, she forced sustenance back into his lungs. He came to and, taking Mim's hand, swam to the surface. They rendezvoused with the other Guardians, who had surfaced several feet away. Jack gasped for air, holding to Mim, who was fighting to keep them both afloat with her ankle feeling like to was being stabbed a zillion times with each kick. He noticed.

"You're injured!"

"You can barely breathe!" She said wincing through the pain. He rolled his eyes and froze the nearby water. He crawled up onto his element and scooped her into his arms. She attempted to walk but he held her fast. He told her to go into her winter form and she complied. He put a splint on her ankle made of ice, also to stop the swelling.

"I can fly you know." she said.

"I know." he smiled, despite coming back from drowning. Oh Jack!

He skated down the water, freezing the water as he went. The other Guardians, save for Tooth who flew everywhere, hopped onto the ice and followed Jack to the nearby shore. Mim stretched out with her senses, searching for distress and worry. She struck a wave of emotion hurtling out from a collection of minds and hearts, innocent and pure.

"They're in the lighthouse!" Mim said, yanking herself out of her reverie.

Jack took to the water on ice again, Sandy and Tooth followed. But Bunny and North were stopped by Wrath and Lust who had abandoned their assigned posts to detain the two of them.

"Keep going mate! We'll handle this!" Bunny yelled over his shoulder, as Lust advanced on him. North pulled out his swords, ready to prove his legendary skill.

The ice runway extended out towards the lighthouse but Gluttony came up fast, paddling like a wheel boat, with eight arms total. Tooth whistled for a team of nearby fairies and left the runway.

"I'll take of this brute." She told the rest of the Guardians. Gluttony climbed onto the runway dripping wet, with eight ready fists.

Six Guardians had now been wheedled down to three and as Jack stretched the runway to the shore of the lighthouse rock, just 30 feet away, Pride and Sloth sped out to meet them. Sloth had super sped but stopped once she encountered Jack's especially slippery ice. Sandy glared at the navy clad girl and readied long strings of dreamsand, prepared to battle her at a safe distance. Jack put Mim carefully onto the ice and faced off with Pride.

"I was gonna hand you over to Lust big boy, but she decided on torturing the rabbit." Pride said. She spoke all this with a smile. But this smile was horrifying as it could not hide the guiltless evil, behind all that pink and frills. The triangles on her palms glowed and Jack stepped forward only to slip on his own ice. He lay on his stomach, shocked. He had never slipped on his own ice before. It was HIS ice for cryin' out loud!

Further back on the runway, Tooth ducked and dodged as Gluttony swung successively with all eight of his arms. He split himself into two and got to Tooth on both sides of the ice. As he swung his fists, he swayed on the ice that was softening and melting in the May heat.

"Tsk tsk tsk Glut. What good are all these arms if you can't control them?"

Her squad of loyal minis formed up into a deadly "V" and charged, pecking the major muscles and tendons in all of his arms. While he struggle to swat the small hummingbird hybrids away, Tooth took the advantage to use her wings and slice off 6 of the 8 arms. There was no blood or gore, because they were merely duplicates, but Gluttony still dropped to his knee in temporary pain. Tooth flew up into the air, to go help the others, but was soon met the ever growing glut, who grew bigger and bigger. But Tooth flew higher and higher until she heard what she needed to.

"Can't go any higher turtle dove?!" Gluttony insulted her with his mammoth sized voice.

"No, you can't afford to grow any bigger." Tooth chided knowingly. He looked at her confused until one monstrous crack sent him down into the water. As he went down, he shrunk until he was back to his normal size, holding a floating piece, to tired to multiply. Tooth flutter off to help her family of friends.

North slowly rotated around in a circle, directly across from Wrath who's circuitry glowed in his paramount anger.

"They say you're legendary with blades, but nothing beats a good gun. Guns kill much quicker than blades, and it only takes a finger." Wrath baited North with his furious words.

"Nyet, there you are wrong comrade. Guns don't kill people. People kill people, and a blade shows honor in the fight not a cowardly shot made by scared boy." North was a hardened warrior who had a tough stomach for trash talk. Wrath roared and charged, a glowing blaster heading the front of his attack. North swiftly swerved under Wrath's arm and dealt him a quick slice to the arm, which sparked and sputtered. Wrath twitched and squirmed at the strike and turned to reveal miniature missile launchers on his shoulders. Each one shot 3 of the violent explosives.

"Here's the fun part gramps. You can't cut them or they'll explode." He chuckled. North rolled his stormy blue eyes. This youth was so naïve in the ways of fighting. Wrath launched the missiles in an array of what looked like sure doom for the Russian Cossack.

But North is not the most legendary swordsman in mythical history for nothing. Using the flat ends of the swords, North gracefully redirected the rockets at Wrath with mind boggling speed and precision. Wrath didn't know what hit him. Well, he did, but he was to unconscious and smoking with electric flare ups that he didn't notice too much. North stood over him and looked him straight in the eye.

"One of the first rules of swordsmanship is to stick them with the pointy side. The second is to know how to use the flat side. Good to know da?"

At this time Bunny was grappling with Lust. Despite the species difference, Bunny found her attractive. Her mystical allure pulled at his whiskers and ears. As she moved closer to him in their twirling dance of strikes and misses, his heart began to pound until he could hear nothing else. Her voice hammered into his brain until he could not help but think of its enticing tones. She had not yet been able to touch him.

"Ya know, I was going to go for your adorable white headed friend." she taunted him 'til his green eyes couldn't stray from her.

"Why didn't ya then Sheila?"

"He's too wrapped up in that black and white chick. Ugh! Actual love interferes with ME!" she sighed in exasperation. Bunny's eared pulled back. She may have just let her weakness slip from those lovely lips. He thought back to a time when Pookas roamed the meadows, and field were filled with kits, as mating season came and passed every year. He remember an exquisite female with the speckled silver coat, that was tinted ever so lilac. He first met her when walking through a grove of willow trees in full bloom...

This moment of remembrance had allowed Lust to approach and grab him and stare into his eyes. She waited for the usual reaction. But Bunny only looked at her.

"I'm not above hitting a girl."

He slapped her crossways across her face. She fell to the ground, tears in her own fuchsia eyes. Bunny's heart melted at those tears. But his heart froze when he recalled all the disgusting things she had said about his friends, in their battle today. She stayed on the ground, in submission as she realized one of the consequences of her lustful philosophy. She was normally in control of men, but sometimes giving up her body meant giving up her strength. The shock got to her and she fainted onto the ground in a heap.

Jack and Sandy brawled with Sloth and Pride. Sandman conjured sand gloves over Sloth's hands but she moved so fast that it took great concentration to keep the gloves in place. She ran circles around him so fast that his big golden eyes couldn't keep up. But he scrunched up his eyes and made a simple golden rod extend straight to his left. It clotheslined Sloth straight in the gut. She heaved and threw up into the water. She looked up at Sandy.

"How did you do that?" she asked, kneeling on the ice. Sandy signed a backwards clock, a jack-in-the-box, and a book. _It's the oldest trick in the book._ He stood at guard in case she was ready for another round. But Sloth looked around at how her teammates were faring.

"Eh. I give up." she threw up her hands. She was laziness after all. Sandy had to move her to the shore and away from the melting ice. Goodness knows she wouldn't do it herself. Jack was having more difficulty with Pride.

He wasn't even fighting her physically. But he was fighting her inside ferociously. The triangles on her head and chest glowed like stars. Inside it was a battle for victory. Pride assaulted his self esteem, made him doubt his love for Mim and question his morality as a Guardian. It was almost too easy for her.

_You do know that you're worthless._

_I AM NOT._

_Really? You knew it when you refused to be a Guardian._

_GET OUT OF MY HEAD._

_Why? I'm opening your eyes to the truth._

_YOU ARE A SIN._

_What's a sin is that you think you love that black haired fool._

_DON'T YOU DARE..._

_Lust had power over you. That means you don't truly love her._

_I DON'T BELIEVE YOU._

_More children don't believe you._

That was the last straw! Jack's rage flared until it erupted out of his staff and into Pride. He nailed the triangles on her head and chest. She staggered back as the ice crawled until it covered her body. She had barely opened her mouth to scream, before the ice sealed her mouth shut. She breathed only through her nose, but she passed out from hyperventilation. Jack breathed heavily, his shoulders rising and falling.

While all of her friends were fighting, Mim crawled to the lighthouse. once she could stand. She turned her skin and bones into titanium. This was a blessing and a curse. The unyielding titanium allowed her to walk run and fight. But she had to remain in the solid metal form or else her ankle would limit her again. This was one power and she would have to stick to it. She sang in her head to keep her emotions clear.

_I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose...I am titanium..._

She broke down the door to the lighthouse to find the kids hiding in the corner, guarded by the final two sins. Greed and Envy. She smirked. This was one match she had been waiting for. Copycat to copy kittens. Greed ran forward but Mim jumped and dodged. Envy pulled back, powerless at the moment. Mim descended close to the kids. Sophie poked her metallic leg. They believed. Of course they did. She ducked as Greed came again but he managed to get her wrist. Envy looked ready to armor up but nothing happened.

What happens when you put a chameleon in a room made of mirrors?

Nothing.

Mim punched Greed...then Envy. She led the kids out onto the ice and they ran for the land. North piled them all into the sleigh to get them home. Sandy also went to deal with the worried parents. Mim's metallic feet clanged on the ice. It cracked. She stood in the middle of a web of splitting ice.

"Jack! Jack!"

He ran over...horrified by the very familiar scene. But this time he could do something! He flew at top speeds, and collided with her as she returned to flesh and bone, and the ice gave way beneath her. He carried her back to the Pole. As they took off, she kissed him a silent thank you, knowing all the bad memories today had caused. The sins were left to pick up the pieces of their failure. The Guardians returned home to heal...together.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed. WOW this was a long chapter. I tried to slip in my views on the 7 Deadly Sins in society. Hope you caught that! My character challenge stands. Hope we find a winner soon!**

**-Mimic**


	6. Trouble at Home

June had arrived and the North Pole was bathed in sunlight until winter rolled around once more. Jack was attempting to make one last trip to Burgess until the autumn. He flew South to his hometown and created a firm breeze to keep himself cool. Bunny had decided to accompany him, because he wanted to visit Sophie. Jamie's 11th birthday was fast approaching and Jack had a special gift planned.

Upon arrival, Jamie seemed a little jittery from the time he had been kidnapped last month. But he ecstatically welcome Jack through his window, and Bunny through his bedroom floor. Using a tunnel, his tall ears poked up from a hole that, strangely enough, was on the second floor of his house.

"How ya been kiddo?" Jack asked as he balanced on Jamie's bedpost.

"Oh, boring. Now that you aren't here to bring snow, we have to go outside and find something else to do." Jamie bounced cross legged in his blankets.

"C'mon. You are WAY more creative than that! You can go climb trees and have water gun fights and run races!" Jack suggested. He flew up and gestured extensively with his hands. Jamie smiled and began to bounce on his bed.

"And we can go swimming too!" He shouted.

"Yeah...and that too!" Jack yelled, although his grin faltered.

"Listen, I've got a surprise for you!." Jack smiled secretively, changing subjects.

Twenty minutes later, Jamie and the rest of Jack's first believers were inside the school gymnasium. Once everyone was in. Jack iced the doors so that no one would come in and mess up Jamie's perfect gift. With 3 swishes of his staff. The Gymnasium was turned into a sparkling winter wonderland. There was an ice rink on one end and snow fortresses already made on the other. Snow soldiers stood with arms full of snowballs.

"Snow! In June! Jack this is AWESOME!"

"Happy Birthday Jamie!" Jack yelled! All of his friends rolled out a surprise cake and presents. Jamie stood awestruck.

"You all knew!" he said agape at all of his buddies.

"Of course we did doofus! Caleb and Claude said at the same time.

The snowball fights began as the boys versus the girls but then Pippa got Monty to betray the boys by grabbing his glasses and refusing to give them back unless he changed sides. Claude then persuaded Cupcake by making a snow unicorn. Jack of course fought for the boys, but when Jamie switched to Pippa's side it became an all out free for all!

Snow was down everyone's shirts and soon everyone had messy hair and numb hands from handling the snow. Jack suggested that they go ice skating instead so they don't freeze all of their fingers. He said this while making little sparks of icy lightning which zapped the tips of the kid's noses and made them jump and giggle immensely.

Jack let the long line of skaters through loops and figure-eights. He wrote words in cursive and drew pictures on the ice, using the long line of skaters. Jamie was first, followed by Pippa and the twins Caleb and Claude. Monty held onto Cupcake, who has little Sophie on her shoulders. As Jack made the final loop around, the other 5 Guardians burst out from the snow.

"SURPRISE!" they all screamed in unison!

Jamie was so shocked that he let go of Jack's hand and crashed into a snow bank face first. Everyone else followed suit, with Cupcake crashing on top of everybody and Sophie landing happily in the snow.

The festivities continued until sunset, then Mim helped to melt all the ice and the children picked up their belongings. Everyone pitched in and by the end, the gymnasium was clean and the was not an icicle in sight. Save for Jack Frost of course.

"Well, this certainly has been fun." an all too familiar voice slithered into the farewells.

All eyes turned to see Pitch standing in the snow as Pitch moved forward with the lengthening shadows. Tooth spoke first.

"You! How did you wake up?"

"Don't tell me someone actually fell in love with that despicable face of yours." Bunny quipped.

"I'm not going tell you rabbit." Pitch spat in the Easter Guardian's direction. Mim probed a bit.

"He rolled off his bed and fell face first onto a mirror!" Mim announced with a triumphant smirk, "His one true love...himself." she added in disgust.

Pitch lased out and seized her wrist. She pulled to wrench it free but failed, "I've had enough of you, you little..."

"Let her go!" Jack called yelled as he was about to shoot ice at the bad dream that was the Nightmare King. But something beat him to it. Pitch dove to the side and fell to the ground. Bunny tackled him and dropped him into a tunnel straight to his cave, where he belonged. All eyes turned to Jamie, who's shaking arms held a pistol, his eyes shut tight. Jack moved toward him.

"J-J-Jamie?" he called softly, abashed by what Jamie had done. He moved forward from the side and wrenched the gun free of the frightened boy's grasp. He handed it to North who looked utterly disappointed. All the Guardians did. For a child to feel pushed to carrying a gun, they had failed to be good Guardians. Jack knelt down to Jamie, who was sitting curled up as his friends looked on, horrified.

"Where did you get a gun Jamie?" Jack whispered.

"I-I got-t it from m-my dad's cabinet in the- in the cellar." Jamie stuttered, beginning to get the hiccups.

"Why did you take it?" Jack pressed, taking Jamie's hands into his own.

"I wanted to be strong, so I could help you if we got targeted again." Jamie said, between dry sobs.

"Listen kiddo, you don't need a gun to be strong. I will ALWAYS come and save you, as long as you believe in me."

Jamie nodded. Jack looked up at Mim and Tooth and Sandy and North. Those 4 took the other kids home and told them not to say anything for now. Jack personally flew Jack home. He put Jamie in his bedroom and gave him the pistol. HE told Jamie to put it back and to never be afraid. Jack would be there. Jamie took the gun and carefully held with two hands. When Jamie came back, he was crying and he flung himself at Jack. Jack held the poor kid for 15 minutes as he calmed down. Jack didn't want to admit it. Jamie was growing up. He had decided to take matters into his own hands and that was a grown up decision, although he had not shown gown up judgment. He tucked Jamie into his light summer sheets and said goodnight. Jamie held onto his favorite Guardian, his pretend older brother.

Jack detached himself. As Jamie's breathing became slow and regular, he hopped out the window and walked up Jamie's roof, just as he had done a couple years ago, to ask Man in the Moon why he was here. But tonight he wanted to think. How had he let this happen? He was ashamed at how this was his fault for not paying attention. Jamie was in danger because he was friends with him.

Jack resolved to be more resilient from this day onward. He would keep children from feeling like this was an option. No child should feel pressed to arm themselves like this. He could have seriously hurt someone. He pulled up his hood. He always did this when he was upset. He flew back to the Pole where Mim met him with open arms. As they sat on the roof of the Pole together. He held her and told her about this decision. She supported his choice and with a gentle kiss, confessed her own. She vowed to stop being jealous of Jamie. Jack looked at her confused.

Mim explained that she harbored a jealousy of Jack's attention for Jamie, and how Pitch had baited her by telling her that Jack preferred Jamie to her. Nut now she turned to her winter sweetheart and whispered softly.

"I don't care. I have you. How much doesn't matter."

Turmoil has a way of finding families, and ripping them apart, but a family is strong so long as the people never stop believing.

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**A/N: Review? Still waiting on that character challenge. PM me with your answer and you can win an OC in a special one shot!**

**-Mimic**


	7. The Palace Project Part 1

North sat in his office, looking through his schematics. The yetis had brought it to his attention that they were running out of storage space. North was planning on making an addition to the warehouse section of the North Pole. He had drawn up blueprints and mad a model, which he placed among the small scale ice models of the North Pole. He looked at the Ice North Pole and pondered what had been his home for centuries. Every single one of the Guardians had a home somewhere. Jack had his lake but he often stayed at the North Pole. Bunny had his Warren and Sandy had an island. Tooth had her Palace.

The last time North had been to the Tooth Palace was when they had been fighting Pitch, and the same applied to the Warren. But the North Pole was the hotspot for most of the Guardian gatherings. Something nagged at his mind. Mim didn't have anywhere except her room at the Pole. North had suggested her hometown, but Mim merely replied that "she was glad to never go back." North had let it be after that. Perhaps Mim wanted her own special place. Jack had a lake to himself most of the time. Maybe that was what North should do. Despite the rule that they were only for emergencies, her turned on the Northern Lights.

"Hey what's the emergency North?! OO! Bicuspid in Ecuador!" she rattled off at top speeds to her fairies.

"I'm tellin' ya mate! Ya can't keep doing this! I have to clean up from Easter this year!" Bunny was grumpy as always.

Sandy appeared on a dreamsand dragon, and Mim appeared as a real dragon. She laughed as Jack tickled her scales, sending some fire out from her jaws.

"What's the big kerfuffle North?" Jack asked.

"Kerfuffle?" Mim commented in a scaly dragon-human form.

"I heard it as I was passing over Britain. It sounded fun to say...kerfuffle...kerfuffle..." he didn't get any further as Mim clapped a handover his mouth with her warm dragon heat. He pulled back and pouted with childlike sadness. She laughed and kissed him instead, and this time he didn't mind the heat.

"Come my friends!" North boomed, "I have project for Guardians."

"What would that be?" Mim inquired as she tried to stop Jack from poking her scales, to no avail.

"Mim! You need a place of your own." North said.

"We've gone over this, I am not going back to my town, unless I have to as a Guardian." she replied.

"Yes, but we will find new place!" North countered with his Santa smile!

Mim opened her mouth to protest. But the other Guardians began to agree. They all had some headquarters and they thought Mim deserved one too. Some yetis, including Phil, overheard and became excited at the prospect of a unique construction project. They began to gossip in yetish about designs, window styles and paint colors that would fit Mim. Tooth understood yetish and joined in the incognito planning. Then North put in his two cents. Bunny and Jack didn't know yetish, but Mim turned into a copy of Tooth, and understood.

"REALLY! You're planning already?! I don't even know what to do."

Jack weighed in with an idea.

"Maybe we can show her our places and help her get some inspiration."

"Ach! Jack! IS good idea. Where first?" North said, patting Jack on the back, which "patted" him a couple meters forward.

"I say Tooth Palace! I love giving tours! A set of canines in Madrid! Head out!" Tooth added.

It was agreed on. The stables awaited and the sleigh was prepared. A couple of yetis were coming to add their opinions on locations. Bunny had to go on the sleigh because he couldn't follow along in his tunnels.

"Aw no! No way!" he refused, but North pulled him in and squished him in between Phil and another yeti. The yetis looked down with their big eyes at the Pooka. He just scowled at his big feet.


	8. The Palace Project Part 2

The great Palace of Punjam Hy Loo could be called one the most spectacular wonders of the unknown world. But to the few who are familiar with the 7 towers and their purpose, it is called Tooth Palace. It is constantly swarming with small fairies, who carry small teeth and store them in shining gold cases. It is colored in the brightest colors and overlooks an enormous jungle that no human has ever penetrated, save for two. Inside lives a great elephant who has large wings and can fly with grace beyond imagination. It is in this magnificent ethereal structure lives Her Most Royal Majesty Queen Toothiana of Punjam Hy Loo.

"I've been here before." Mim said as she gazed upon the shimmering gold in the light of the setting sun.

"How could you have?" Tooth asked.

"I was in the jungle and got lost, before I was a Guardian. I didn't know this was here." Mim responded in awe.

For those of the Guardians who couldn't fly, the Great Elephant carried them to the various places in the Palace. First they visited the pools at the bottom of the grounds. Painted onto the surrounding cliffs was Tooth, through the centuries, carrying teeth and bring memories to children. The murals were stunning and painted in the traditional Indian style of clean lines and light strokes. All around the turquoise pools were willow trees bedecked in purple blossoms and magenta tendrils.

"These are so lovely!" Mim told Tooth who smiled in return.

"Each one is a tribute to a child who didn't get to lose their last baby tooth." she explained, purple eyes shining slightly.

"How could that happ-" Mim began, but held her tongue. It was question that did need to be answered.

They continued to visit each tower in turn. Mim questioned the presence of an Antarctica tower. Tooth thought for a moment. She told Mim that the Sisters of Flight had built the Palace with seven towers, because they had been instructed so by Man in the Moon. Tooth gave it the name of Antarctica only complete the seven continents. No teeth were actually kept there. It sounded like she had been asked this question more than once. It kind of annoyed her.

Jack pulled Mim aside as the other Guardians moved onto the Tower of Africa.

"Jack! What are you doing? We should be following Tooth." Mim whispered through Jack's hand as it covered her mouth.

"I wanted to talk to you about the time I didn't wanna swim, when we were stopping the Sins."

"This is hardly the time!" Mim reminded.

"No! I just don't want you to think differently of me... if I explained." Jack's face flushed faint pink. Mim's face softened at Jack's distress.

"I don't care if you're scared to swim Jack. I love you just the same." she kissed him fleetingly. As she pressed against him she felt something metal press against her stomach. She looked down to see Jack's tooth case in his right hand. He took her hand and pressed her fingers against the blue diamond in the center. They fled into Jack's memories.

Moments flashed by at speeds greater than thought itself and event in Jack's life whirred by in blurs of sight, sound and occasionally, smells and tastes. As they returned to the here and now, Mim fell forward into Jack, who supported her upright. This tended to happen the first time people experienced memories. Once she regained her balance and composure. Mim looked into Jack's eyes, her rainbow ones turning into an identical blue as his own. Without a word she folded her self into his arms, and let the tears fall. They were silent tears, wordless tears, thoughtless tears. Dark spots pattered on Jack's hoodie as he held onto the one person who would now understand everything.

Mim stepped away and burst into a flicking ember, evaporating any signs of tears from her face. After cooling down, they returned to the rest of their team and the tour, promising that they had been there the whole time and how they must not have been paying close enough attention.

As they floated through the twists and turns of Tooth Palace, Mim began to come around to the idea of a place of her own. She looked around her and at the gilded swirls of every handrail and the mosaic glass pressed into almost every surface. She saw the gentle harmony of the jungle crawling into the palace as vines and exotic blossoms clung to the pillars and interconnecting bridges. It was beautiful From Punjam Hy Loo, she learned this: her home must have BEAUTY.

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**A/N: What did you guys think? What other qualities should a great home have? I am looking for some supportive readers to test my ideas on. I would PM you and ask for your opinions on things to go in the story. Leave a review and I might choose you as an idea-ish person! I know that idea-ish is not a word. Spare me the flames.**

**-Mimic**


	9. The Palace Project Part 3

After Tooth Palace was such a success, Sandy decided to take the Guardians to his home. It took a little bit of time to find it. Sandy lives on an island of floating dreamsand. The Island of the Sleepy Sands was created when Sandman crashed into the earth in his shooting star. It was bright and glowing, like a star in the sky that was the sea. Sandy happily herded his friend through all the sections of the Island. Mim notices how easily the Guardians seemed to get lost. Sandy flashed many symbols in order to explain.

The island is ever changing and hardly looks the same or stays in the same place for long. There were only 7 constant components to the Island. The first was the Mountain of the Wandering Mind. It stood tall and proud in the center of the island. Bunny's large feet felt the slowly rising and falling rhythm of the sand.

"Is the mountain breathing?" he asked the little golden man. Sandy nodded his head, sending grains of dreamsand everywhere. Tooth flew around the mountainside. The breeze from her wings blew up a large cloud of dreamsand. Everyone jumped back, not wanting to drop sleeping where they stood. What happened next was a sight to behold. The cloud of dreamsand swirled up and out of the cloud came a head and arms, until a sparkling lady had been formed from the cloud. She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled before flying out into the night.

"Leave it to Sandman to have an island that creates beautiful women for him." Jack said quietly so only Mim could hear. She laughed and smacked him jokingly upside the head.

"As if you're looking!" she retorted in mock offense. It was his turn to laugh before grabbing Mim's waist and twirling her around. He planted a quick kiss on her nose.

"Oh right, I already have a beautiful lady for myself."

Mim reached down and scooped up a fistful of dreamsand. Acting swiftly she thrust into Jack's face. He for moment seemed perfectly conscious. But it didn't last. His head collapsed onto Mim's lap, white hair in a scruffy mess as always. Levitating him behind her, she followed back to the group.

The second landmark on the Island was the Tree of Insomnia. Sandy motioned that this tree was super duper important. This was the tree that actually made the dreamsand. The original dreamsands were created by the Ancient Masters during the Golden Age. But one day some dreamsand fell onto the great old willow, and now dreamsand eternally flowed from it's tresses.

"Where are the original dreamsands Sandy?" Tooth asked inquisitively. Sandy signed that he kept them stored safely in the Mountain of the Wandering Mind.

"Is everything on this island a mouthful?" Mim commented. Sandy looked puzzled. As a man who didn't talk, a mouthful was never a problem.

"Ya know. Mountain of the Wandering Mind...Island of the Sleepy Sands." she continued. The Guardians though for a moment on that. She did have an excellent point.

"Why don't we shorten it to IOSS" she said, pronouncing it AI-Ohss. And so it was for that day forward.

The third major part of the Island was Beach of Bewilderment. No one remembers what it is like there. Once you step off of it, you become very confused about what you saw and don't end up remembering much. Flying doesn't help either. Tendrils sand often dance across the beach and enjoy catching flying objects. Ask Tooth how she knows. She'll probably tell you that she doesn't. Jack had awoken by now. But he was bit more cautious of Mim's sneak attacks.

"Hey, have you ever tried to mimitate Sandy? Jack asked. Mim shook her head, an eager grin on her face. Mimitate was a new word they had made for Mim's powers. Mim fingered the sand in her fingers. Her hair turned a gold comparable to a sunrise and it grew...and grew...and grew...

Mim in dreamsand form was wearing a long dress of gold, which shifted around her ankles. It was a simple thing. but the catch was the hair. It was 7 feet long, and did not obey the laws of gravity. It floated and reacted to her movement as if Mim were underwater.

"Rapunzel...where did you get that from?" Jack asked.

"No idea. Maybe it was her golden hair or her affinity for painting which would tie to Sandy's creation of images with sand..." she continued to mumble off on the possible connections. All the while, her hair seemed to obtain a life of it's own. It poked at Jack's hoodie and scooped at dreamsand. It messed up his hair and tickled his face.

"MIM! HELP!" Jack yelled. Mim's heavy concentration ceased and she turned to see Jack entangled in her hair, which was trying to make him dance like a puppet. Oops.

"Oops! Wandering mind, wandering hair. Got it." she said, re-focusing herself. Her hair once more became obedient. As the other Guardians admired Mim's transformation, her hair returned to Jack. He smacked it back and it recoiled.

"Don't you even think about it." he pointed a finger at the hair. The other's looked at him curiously. Mim was trying not to laugh. Jack pulled back his finger, his face flushed.

"I am not crazy."

Next came the Lake of Lucid Dreams. They arrived at what appeared to be a large empty basin.

"Um, Sandy. There is no lake." Sandy flashed signs but no one seemed to understand. Mim was still copying Sandman, so somehow his point made it through.

"OH! It's the Lake of LUCID Dreams. Lucid dreaming is a controlled dream, you have to dream that's there." Mim explained, hoping that would make more sense.

"That's a little weird mate." Bunny responded, dipping a paw into the newly appeared lake.

"Yet it's not weird that people walk through us unless they believe in us." Tooth said wisely, hands on her feathery hips. Bunny decided to shut up.

The other sections of the island breezed by, but each had it's own creative name and its own creative twist. The Sand Dunes of Sleepwalking could make you do crazy things when under their influence. The Forest of the Fainting induced an environment so comfortable that the Guardians struggled to remain awake as they strode among the trees that let in just the right amount of light. Finally there were the Hills of Hallucination. To everyone it looks different. North proudly walked through a great golden palace, Jack slid down an endless icy slide. Tooth fluttered on a cloud with ever manner of birds. Bunny was hopping, in the middle of an ocean. Sandy saw it for what it was: large sandy hills, rolling pleasantly like waves. Mim stood on a balance beam. She looked down to see the whole world beneath her, rotating in space.

As they left IOSS Mim contemplated the island. She certainly wanted aspects of it reflected in her own home. From IOSS she took away this: Her home must be CREATIVE.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the slow updates but I like to think ahead and I have ton of summer homework! What books do you guys have to read? BTW One shot challenge still up. Spring spirit anyone?**

**-Mimic**


	10. The Palace Project Part 4

Although it seemed that nothing could top IOSS, there was still so much more to come and Mim had so much she could gain from the other homes of the Guardians. The Island was floating close to another island of a famous name: Easter Island. Bunny hopped up out of the ground on the beach. North disembarked from the sleigh and sighed.

"Ach! Bunny! I remember that this is where we met."

"Yeah mate, that was centuries ago."

Tooth joined into the nostalgic moment, for she had joined the Guardians not long after when her foe, the Monkey King, had attacked the youngest Guardian, who had lost her last baby tooth.

"Gosh, I feel young." Mim said to break the silence that was only awkward to her and Jack. Jack may have been 300 years old or so, but the older Guardians had been together for around 500 years before he was even born as a human.

Bunny thumped his foot on the ground. A HUGE tunnel opened up and everyone fell in. Bunny was clearly at ease in the twisting catacombs and swirling paths, but North was sliding around on his bottom and Tooth was tumbling around because she had no room for her wings to flutter. Jack surfed the side and Sandy bounced around in a Sandman-sized hamster ball.

They all crashed in a heap, in the Warren's main atrium. Even though they had come from underground, the Warren was flooded in natural sunlight, and the light filtered through all the grass. Hills and stone pillars covered in grass rose as far as the eye could see. The endless green was breached by rising colors of pink, blue and purple, and yellow as flowers of every type stretched toward the sun. Entrances to major tunnels lay at the end of a forked path off, far ahead of them. The sentinel eggs stood watching over the growing paradise.

Jack was thinking of all the ways he could freeze this place over, but his thought process was interrupted by a nuzzle from a small white rabbit. He picked it up and held it in front him.

"So what do you think Mim? Impressed by Kangaroo's oversized garden?" he spoke to the rabbit. It shuffled in his hands and twitched its ears.

"Yep, I agree. It's a bit quirky."

"Umm...Jack?"

He turned to the voice to see his girlfriend giving him some very curious looks. He looked from the rabbit, to Mim, back to the rabbit. He put it back on the ground.

"I know my own girlfriend!" he protested.

"No, Jack, you don't." Mim said, "but there is a way you can tell."

"What is it?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"WHAT!"

"Persuade me." she said mysteriously as she took off to follow Bunny. Jack pursued as he wracked his mind on how to persuade her to tell.

The Warren was a labyrinth that, unless you had the place memorized, could make you forget which way was up. Gravity was a tricky thing in the Warren, because some rooms ventured so close to the earth's core. In order to keep the visitors from getting crushed under the pressure, Pookas of old had developed anti-gravity technology. If you happened to jump while it glitched, you would jump higher than anticipated.

Surface-side, the Warren appeared to be a botanist's dream. Mim could see butterflies everywhere and bees buzzing in hives that hung from trees the size of small buildings. She scaled one of them and peered from its branches. The view took her breath away, but it was practically forced back into her lungs by everything around her. The place emanated life and vitality.

Bunny herded everyone down to the Creeks of Colors. The streams weaved over and under one another as they wound around the Warren. Up ahead, the Meadows of Egg Flowers bloomed. Eggs sprouted from the blossoms and marched in a continuous line towards the rivers. One by one, they hopped through the creeks and came out solidly colored. They then distributed themselves into groups by color.

"Where are they going?" North asked.

"To the Pattern Fields. Basic patterns like stripes and spots are added there."

"But your eggs have more than spots and stripes, Bunny." Tooth added.

"Hand painting comes later. I'll show you sometime, but we're still in experimental stages for next year."

Bunny had led them to a cliff that rose in the center of the warren. It wasn't actually a cliff, but one of the towering pillars that was covered in grass and greenery. When asked why they came here, Bunny pointed up and started climbing. North began to scale the jagged surface. Tooth shot up to the top and Jack followed her. Mim transformed into an earth form. She dug one foot into the ground and swept her arm up. The earth lifted her on a wave of stone, and placed her on top of the massive pillar.

"Rub it in! Some of us can't fly!" Bunny called, his voice muffled by the stone.

"I didn't fly." Mim retorted smartly.

"Oh rack off!"

Once everyone had reached the top, Bunny opened his arms and a grand sweeping gesture. A collective gasp left the lips of the Guardians. From ere, one could see a majority of the Warren. The Creeks of Colors and Pillars were like a massive piece of art that, along with the flowers, formed into a giant painted egg! A living, moving, breathing egg!

Standing there brought a sense of peace to everyone. Waves of energy rolled over them and the air seemed to fill their lungs twice as much as it usually would. Mim sat down on the edge of the pillar with her legs dangling 100 feet above the ground. The Warren was full of green and color, but what she wanted from here was not the greenery of the color, but the life. Her home must have LIFE.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that it took so long to update, nobody seems to be reading this so I guess not too many people care. The first Volume was a success so please keep it up and read this Volume too! My one shot challenge is still up.**

** If you can tell me the name of the MImpossible Spring Spirit. (it's in Volume 1) then you will feature as a special spirit in a special one shot! **

**PM me your answer and if you're first then I will write you in!**

**-MIMIC**


	11. The Palace Project Part 5

**A/N: I am putting Jack's Lake and The North Pole together, just so that this doesn't drag on forever. Sorry if they're shorter, but deal with it.**

* * *

There were only tow more places left to see: The North Pole and Jack's Lake. Jack was still trying to figure out how to persuade Mim to tell him how to recognize her in animal form, so he wasn't listening. But couple elbows knocked him back and he found that they were already at his lake. he was supposed to give a tour. He didn't really want to give a tour of his home, it made it feel less special and Jack liked this place private. But he knew he wasn't getting out of this one.

"So...it's not that big...we can start here." Jack began to awkwardly explain the aspects of his lake.

He started with the lake itself, it didn't have an official name, and everyone just called it The Burgess Lake, or just The Lake. He breezed right over the fact that he had died in it. Mim had held her breath in expectance but nothing came and so she exhaled in release. None of the other Guardians knew, and Jack was determined that it would stay that way.

The forest around the lake did have an official name: The Wood of Wistle. The name was from Jack's time, because the wind whistled through the trees. People weren't great at spelling back then though, so it got recorded in history as "Wistle." The took a stroll through the trees which were old, but still young for trees. They were tall but they were skinny and flexible.

Mim grabbed onto a branch and climbed as high as she dared without wings. The wind made her sway on a section which was smaller than a sapling. A sudden gust caught her off guard, and her grip failed. She crashed through the branches trying to focus enough to mimitate but her emotions scattered as she tumbled down...down.

Jack caught her 15 feet before she impacted with the early summer ground. As she moved to place her feet back on the ground, his grip tightened. She tried again but he seemed to freeze his arms on her with a small amount of frost.

Not again with the carrying...

She looked to the other Guardians, who just smiled and did absolutely nothing to make Jack put her down. _He is head over heels for Mim!_ They all thought. Jack proceeded to carry her for the rest of the tour. She nestled her head into the hollow next to his collarbone. She might as well enjoy this no matter how awkward it was with the others watching. She took in Jack's scent, which was the sharp coolness of water in the air before a blizzard. His hoodie was so soft, and it toned down his artic body temperature so it was like having her head on a cool pillow. But it was slightly warmer than normal, because Burgess was entering summer and Jack was out of his season.

Jack enjoyed it was well. Having her close was like having a cure for anything and everything that could go wrong. Feeling her weight in his arms was a physical reminder that she was here, and was real, and that wasn't going to leave him like everyone else had over the years. He hugged her slightly closer.

There wasn't much to Jack's Lake, but of what there was, most of it was all about Jack and who he was in his surroundings. From light mist on the water and the breeze that never stopped, Jack's wintry presence was ever present. Mim concluded that her home must represent EMOTIONS.

* * *

Since the Guardians were all very familiar with the central amount of the North Pole. North decided that he would show them the out of the way stuff including the defenses against attacks. There was not only a wall of magical trees from the village of Santoff Claussen, but lasers that were focused through stardust glass, making a powerful ray of light that could disarm both earthly and spiritual enemies alike. North invited them to try and break through the magical trees. Tooth sliced and Bunny tunneled but the trees always grew back and their roots blocked Bunny's every turn.

Sandy just giggled and tried to freeze them in sand, but the leaves blew away the sand, which made him stop giggling. Jack tried to shimmy through the small gaps but the trees enclosed and tried to crush him. Mim to pull him out. She tried to burn her way through but the trees sealed and cut off her oxygen, effectively squelching her blaze.

Ancient magics encased the entire fortress that was the North Pole. No nightmare could enter unless it had been carried inside by someone who the shield allowed through. That was how Darkensia had been brought in, inside Mim and Bunny.

The building were made of wood and stone, but mostly stone. It was like trying to infiltrate a mountain.

The day began to take its toll on everyone. After affirming that her home must be STRONG, she fell asleep in Jack's arms, a kiss being her last fading memory of the day.

* * *

**A/N: I know the North Pole was really short, I didn't want to bore you guys! School start soon and I have a lot ot do but I would put more effort into updating if people put more effort into reviewing! :(**

**-MIMIC**


	12. The Palace Project Part 6 Final

The next day dawned as construction day for Mim's Home. There was only one problem, they had idea what they were building, or where they were going to build it! Mim was now thrilled to have a place of her own and it showed. Her eyes were a flaring orange and she was speeding around everywhere so that Jack had to push the wind to hurricane speeds to keep up with her fading speed trail.

North decided that things needed to get down to business, so on Mim's next pass-by, he lifted her by her shoulders so that her feet were slashing the air beneath her.

"Mim! Focus! We need to know what we are doing here!"

"Oh right! Whoops, just got a little fluttery that's all"

"A little..."

"A lot fluttery, okay!"

"Just calm down and lead the way."

Mim calmed down, and North wasn't satisfied until her eyes were a molten gold, instead of day-glow orange. She took a snow globe down from the shelf in the Globe Room. She shook it and whispered a destination into it, She stared into the depths of the globe until she saw the perfect place, she then shattered it on the floor. A portal of swirling colors appeared before them and Mim stepped through, as did all the other Guardians.

No one knew what to expect, but as they landed they were stunned. They were in the Alps of Europe, where green meadows of the mountains rolled above the rivers and streams that flowed by snow capped peaks. Mim skipped and sashayed around until finally resting on the ground. She popped up once more and led them a few hills over, and up a tall peak to a special place.

It was close to the top of the mountain, close to where the trees stop growing. I was all one great green meadow and there was a small pond that was fed by a stream that flowed down from the snow. It also fed out into a stream that graced down the hillsides to the large river in the valley. The lowest cloud level was only a few hundred feet up, and in a short hike, one could be above it. The sun seemed so close and the light glowed.

"I want to live here!"

"It's beautiful Mim, but why here, out of every place in the world!" Tooth asked.

"Here I can touch the ground and I can touch the sky! I can see for miles and not move an inch, I'm the first to see the sun rise and the last to see it set. I'm the first to feel the snows of winter and the flowers of spring and I have this great space to do whatever I want."

She spread her arms and spun, her face tilted to the sky. The Guardians did the same and it felt amazing, to feel so big and so small all at the same time. They understood what she meant. There was such peace here and yet it seemed that they were on the verge of something new and thrilling!

* * *

The morning was dedicated to landscaping. The yetis arrived by snow globe and Mim directed everything. Mim had them create a system where the water from the pond and streams was fed around the entire area and it dropped and dived through multiple levels like a splendid fountain that wound its way around the meadow and up the mountainside. It ended in an actual fountain that had a dragon winding itself around the three levels and breathing water instead of fire from its maw.

Bunny was in charge of the gardens. Most flowers couldn't survive up here where there was such thin air. So he brought in some of the magic flowers from the Warren and planted them in great patterns wherever Mim directed. The water from the fountains dropped water to hydrate the blooms. There were climbing flowers, like morning glories, which crawled up the rocky cliff face and add color to the gray stone. He also put in violets, a purple carpet which swayed in the mountain breeze.

North and Sandy were the builders. North and Mim would discuss ideas and Sandy made life size models until Mim found on that she liked. She didn't want something huge, instead she preferred something more cottage like, but it would have a circular room that extended 3 stories up compared to the 1 story house. The yetis got to work as North directed them in building the house.

Tooth was in charge of finding Mim some company. She flew around calling to all sorts of animals. Two families of fluffy mountain rabbits decided to move into the meadow and Mim personally helped them dig a den in a secluded corner of the meadow, by the abundant grass and a section of the stream. There were not only rabbits, but other animals agreed to visit, including a bear, a mystical bear descended from the great Bear of Santoff Claussen, and a herd of reindeer who would pass through on migration. An eagle asked if he could stay if she would help him find a suitable tree. Mim planted him one right then and there, and Bunny made in grow in a matter of minutes.

Jack asked if he could have a room in the cottage. Mim laughed and obliged. Jack had been making decorations and now the meadow was filled with ice statues, of animals and dragons. But the best part was the statue of him and Mim standing together, where the sunset would cast their rainbow image on the flat surface of the cliff.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's beautiful, it's perfect and...and..."

She shut up and kissed him. Jack wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up. But he lost his balance when he spun her around and they fell down. They rolled down the slopes as the mountain tumbled and tossed them around. They eventually came to rest on a flat outcropping. They each breathed heavily as they gaspingly laughed.

"You are gonna have the best...mmmnng"

"Jack?"

There was no response.

"Jack?"

Mim scrambled to her feet and walked over to where Jack lay. He was on his back and his eyelids were shut. She shook him and called his name many more times. She began to panic when he just lay there like a ragdoll.

"And I never told him how to recognize me," she said trying to remain calm.

"You look for my bracelets." she whispered into his ear. Just as she stood to get help. Jack's arms shot up and snared her on top of his chest.

"HA! I got you to tell me!" he called up as she struggled to free herself from his arms.

"You little faker!" she yelled, which echoed across the mountains. But she couldn't help but find it funny.

"Thanks for the secret, snowflake!" Jack said as he sat up, holding her in his lap. He pecked her on the nose and she pecked him on the cheek.

"You didn't deserve it."

"I don't deserve you, but I got you anyway." he tossed back with a smirk. Mim gave up the argument and rested her head on Jack's shoulder.

* * *

Three weeks later, Mim's home was finished. They all took the trip to visit her and she was glad to show them around. The gardens were sumptuous and they formed pathways that led around the meadow. The sound of flowing water splashed to every corner of the area. The pond had orange koi fish that Tooth had brought as a housewarming gift. Jack's statues cast glittering shadows everywhere and fragmented the colors of the flowers. The animals walked casually about and Mim picked up a small rabbit that was hopping around with its mother. She gave it a pet and set it back down.

The house was void of any decoration. Save for the kitchen and basic furniture, there was no color or accessories. Mim said that a house was one thing, but a home had to be built by family, so experience would decorate it and put things in it. The circular tower room had no floors, except for the bottom one. So Mim could climb around and do whatever she wished with it.

"Sheila, so what are ya gonna name it?"

"Name it?" she repeated.

"Yeah. Like us: Warren, Pole, IOSS, Palace."

"Oh...um...how 'bout...Dragon Scale"

"Sounds cool, but how come." Wow the Guardians were horrible at making connections. The dragon was her animal, and they had scales. But scales were also used to find balance amounts and such and she was the Guardian of Balance.

"Ohhhhhhhhh..."

Mim moved in and made the place her own and the Guardians visited often to bring things to add. Bunny brought glass vases for flowers and Tooth gave beautiful candle lanterns to cast light after dusk. North stocked her kitchen and Sandy put a beach around her pond. Jack brought the painting she had made him for Christmas. She tried to refuse, but he insisted that it would be safer here and added that it would give him a reason to visit. As he left, the sunset put his and Mim's image on the cliff face. He waved and they both watched the image as it vanished with the sun as it lowered, ever so slowly into the horizon.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked this short story. I'm planning on alternating between short stories and one shots. I you have a one shot suggestion, please put it in the reviews and it can go into the story. You'll be credited of course and you could even star in it! ONE SHOT CHALLENGE! **

**Spring Spirit (in Volume 1) ?**

**1st Place: Stars in a special one shot, written for them!  
2nd Place: Character in the special one shot.  
3rd Place: Shout-out and sneak preview at the next Volume!**

**I want people to read and I am open to suggestions so don't be shy about reviewing. PLEASE!**

**-MIMIC**


	13. A Rather Decent Day

Jack's eyes fluttered open and he caught the first lights of day from his bedroom at the North Pole. His sheets fell off the bed as he sat up and grabbed his staff. His windows were blinding with the morning light. A picture of him and Mim sat on his bedside table. She had drawn it of their first kiss, up in the clouds. He had taken it from her room at the Pole to keep as his own.

He loved Mim. Everything about her seemed to make him happy. She didn't mind that he was freezing cold or that he was childish and carefree. She wasn't afraid to challenge him and was willing to be anything for him, because she quite literally could. Despite contrary belief, his favorite transformation was not the one were she was wintry and white like snow and ice. His absolute favorite was when she was in battle form. There was something so graceful about how her black and white clothing became armored, scaled like the skin of a dragon, shining in the light. There was beauty in the sweep of the high ponytail that formed when it was time to fight, so her hair was out of her face.

He sighed lost in the image of his love. An impact on his gut followed by an impact on his lips made his breath catch in his mouth as said love rolled him onto the floor with the force of her blow. When she finally released him, he saw that she was dressed for the sunrise with eyes that shimmered and hair that flashed streaks of warm gold through his room.

"Why are you here so early?" he said, running his hand across her cheek.

"Oh I was lonely and though that you would give me some company." Mim replied her hand fiddling with a lock of his white hair. He kissed her fleetingly on the lips and pulled her close. She nestled into him and laced her arms around his chest.

"You will always be welcome here."

"Here where?"

"Here next to me."

"What should we do today?" Mim inquired.

"We could do target practice."

As the words left his mouth, thunder clapped outside and an electrical storm buzzed outside his window. Clouds darkened the sky and winds began to howl in powerful gales as blusters of snow blew up and shot through the air. A gust forced itself through his window and stung Mim's cheek. He placed his hand over the red mark where it had stung. He stood and closed the window. So much for target practice.

"Was that your doing?"

"I may be able to spark some lightning when I'm in Storm Form but a whole storm? Way outta my league."

"I guess we're stuck here for the time being then." Jack said, a sweet twinge crawling into his voice.

"I have no objections." Mim innocently replied.

Jack and Mim's day together began with Jack taking her hand in his and them walking together on the covered balconies that wound around the Pole. Their arms swung in unison and the bounce in their steps seemed to match so easily. Questions came to his mind and Jack decided that since she had heard his saga, that he should hear hers. He guided her towards the couches in a lounge room close to the North Pole's kitchens.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her down next to him and put an arm behind her shoulders.

"So tell me your story snowflake."

* * *

I was born on the first full day of summer, and I was so small! My older brother Calvin got to hold me after the doctors had weighed me and done all the routine checks. My mom and dad thought I was going to be a boy, but they ended up with me. As grew up, I was always giggling and smiling, off in my own little world. But when bad things happened, I was usually the first to know. I cried when others cried and would laugh even if I didn't know what was funny.

It soon became apparent that I wasn't like everyone else in my family. My family had a mold and I clearly didn't fit it. I played a string instrument in the orchestra, when everyone in our family history had played in the band. I was the first person in our family to be a dancer, ever. My brother and I were opposing forces. He was so close minded and short tempered, no matter what I did to make him smile. He refused to let me hug him starting when he was ten.

My parents were always so busy. My mom worked all the time and Dad traveled across country every month to do sales work with people in the military. It was so difficult to entertain myself and it got to be so lonely that I became obsessed with stuffed animals! I had this huge stuffed dog that I would hug and talk to. School wasn't much better. Mom said I was too focused for my age. The kids at school didn't understand that and they treated me like a freak. Their conversations were about such shallow things and no one ever wanted to speak about deep things or complicated things.

By the time I was in high school, my closest friends were books and drawings and my own imagination. Vick had been my closest friend for many years and then he met other kids like him. Smart people who like math got to him and once he had friends, I wasn't good enough. I was never good enough for anybody. No matter how much I worked, my result was never good enough. People kept telling me to be more than I was, more than I am. There is no way that you can say that and make it sound nice.

By the time you got to me, I was a defensive girl who was terrified to trust and terrified to think that her whole life would be comprised of the torturous tedium that life was. But now I'm here and happy and my wish is that those ghosts will never come back to haunt me.

* * *

Jack's arms were stiff from sitting so still. He stretched his muscles so that he could envelope Mim in his arms and squeeze. Small, wet pinpoints dotted his hoodie and Mim looked into his eyes, her form now grey-blue and cloudy. Telling this story had cast shadows into her heart and it showed with wet eyes and a tired face. She was in a hoodie and jeans that were the same drab color of clouds that would make your heart sink and spirits droop. It was chilling the room to the point that Jack could feel it.

"You're with me now, and I will never abandon you. I would die first." Jack stated, solemn and low. She laughed. Today it was a hollow sound.

"In our line of work, that is not as unlikely as it seems."

Her clouds cleared and now it was just a calm blue sorrow. Not a sadness but a comfortable ache that would heal with time and caring.

The hours passed as the day wore on. They stayed in that couch the entire day. the yetis brought cookies and milk and Jack massaged Mim's hands as she told him tale after tale that she remembered from all the books that she had read. Children's stories and novels came to life on in her mouth as they flowed past her lips, spiraling into colorful descriptions of magic, action, romance and adventure. When she ran out of stories, she spoke poems that she created on the spot. An Ode to Winter, a Salute to Spring, and the Poem of a Rather Unfortunate Petunia whisked away the afternoon.

Eventually her voice ceased, and Jack took over. He regaled famous historical events that he had witnessed in detail. The Gettysburg Address, A Look at the Russian Duchess Anastasia and the Destruction of the Berlin Wall were resurrected from his memory.

When North wandered in at 4 pm. He saw two innocent love birds, curled up on the couch, fast asleep, coated in cookie crumbs from a rather decent day.

* * *

**A/N? Leave a review?**

**Spring Spirit Name = One shot winner!**

**-Mimic**


	14. Spirit Ball 2014

At IOSS, Sandy was in the middle of conjuring a very important dream. A little boy in Arizona had to write a story for school, and he needed inspiration! He was adding a pinch of this and just a dusting of that, when out of nowhere, a piece of white paper zoomed in front of his face. Tooth was organizing molars in her Hall of Historical Teeth, Bunny had been looking at color palettes for this year's Easter, and North was directing where to put robots in toy storage, when each of them received the white piece of flying paper. Jack had been making a Siberian blizzard. He opened his and read:

_You are hereby invited to the annual Spirit Ball!  
All Spirituals, Seasonals and Elementals are welcome!_

_Tonight all spiritual battles and duties are to be set aside,  
as we gather for an awesome night!  
_

_From your truly, MYTHOS; Spirit of Legends_

Mim set down the clay sculpture she had been making in her tower and read the invitation.

"What the heck is a Spirit Ball?"

* * *

"It's the annual gathering of spirits." North explained.

"It's usually a lot of fun! Everyone brings something to share, like food or entertainment." Tooth added. Sandy nodded enthusiastically. Bunny seemed to be excited too!

"It's a real formal affair, everyone puts on their best, the sheilas are in gowns and the blokes are usually in jackets and ties. Kinda like a human party."

The four Guardians left to prepare for the Ball and Mim and Jack were left alone. Jack shifted uncomfortably from side to side. Mim got up and went to her room at the Pole. She sat down in the chair by the large window, and faced the mirror. A Ball! What was she going to do? She hadn't met any spirits other than the Guardians and Pitch. Her hands began to sweat and her eyes turned into a nervous amber color. She stood and began to pace around her room. What if it was just like being mortal? What if spirits didn't like her just like everyone else?

Jack opened the door and sat on her bed. She just kept pacing. Her emotional projection power kicked in and her Jack started to shake at the thought of what he was about to do. Or perhaps he was already nervous.

"Listen...I don't usually go to this Ball, but since this is your first year I was wondering if...you wa mmbglglenrd..." He trailed off into silence.

Mim stopped pacing at looked at him with utter anxiety. She was wringing her hands and chewing her bottom lip. Jack's nervousness increased as did hers.

"Will you be my mgfbhfgbd..." He tried again. She looked at him and blinked in a curious sort of way.

"Will you be my date for the Spirit Ball!" he burst out. Mim froze.

"I would love to but...I...I...don't know what to do, what if they hate me!" Mim spluttered and shook. Now that Jack had gotten the words out, his cocky manner slowly returned.

"C'mon, I wanna show off my girlfriend to everybody!" he teased. He pulled her out and began to dance, exaggerating in the silliest way, as he spun her around the floor!

"We've been dating for 5 months and you have told nobody yet!" she countered as he set her nerves at ease. She laughed and pulled him into a dramatic waltz.

"I've been waiting for the right moment!" he laughed too as your light hearted love took over in your hearts.

"Well, then yes, handsome stranger, I accept thine invitation with unfathomable gratitude1" she said in a most elegant British accent.

"I shall wait in anticipation of our courting that evening my dear lady." he answered with equal verve.

* * *

Mim went to Tooth for advice on what to wear and what to do.

"First we need to get you a real dress!" Tooth fussed as she looked Mim up and down.

"I can change into any dress I can think of, hello...shape shifter!"

"But only as long as you focus on it, no you need a real dress!" Tooth persisted.

"And where do I get one of those? To most people, I'm dead."

Apparently yetis don't just make clothes for Jack. In 5 months they can get a lot of sewing done. Tooth dragged her to the formal wear. Her wings hummed as Mim tried everything to slow her down. Gosh, Toothiana was strong! Jack showed up for moral support and to help choose a dress. Tooth made sure he stayed out of the dressing room though. Mim kissed him as she was shoved behind a set of thick red curtains.

"Tooth!"

"Fine! I have to go prepare, but pick something good!" and then she left. Mim stared at the vast wardrobe before her, this could take a while.

Narrowing down the options took a long time. Long or short? Sleeves or no sleeves? What color? What fabric? What style? Which pair of shoes and what accessories went with them? Mim had been never cared enough think of these questions as a mortal, but now her brain whirred as she narrowed it down bit by bit. She eliminated a dress with a long train and another that had a back that dipped a bit too much. She also tossed one with puffy sleeves and one that had a plunging neckline.

"Do you remember the dress you wore when I met you in?" Jack called from the other side of the curtains.

"I wasn't wearing a dress when I met you."

"I mean as an immortal."

"Oh...yeah, the red one." She remembered that night perfectly. The dancing...the music...the chasing...the yelling...it was an interesting evening.

"I loved that dress. It made you look so beautiful."

"I'm glad! It brought us together...in a way."

She walked out wearing the first dress. It was long and in royal purple. It was one sleeved with one long sleeve, leaving the other arm bare. A metallic belt lay on her waist and it bloused the bodice. Her shoes matched in color, but were sparkly and rhinestoned with a design on the toes.

"It's a bit disco."

"A bit. Too disco?"

"Maybe?"

The next dress was far shorter. It was black and had straps so thin that they seemed purely for decoration. The thin straps wove together in the back to cover her back in a woven diamond. It stopped inches above her knees. Embroidery wound its way up the skirt. It wrote the sentence: Dance with me.

"It's a bit short." Jack said as he averted his eyes, awkwardly.

"You see me in shorts everyday."

"Ummmmm..."

She turned around to try on the third dress. When she reappeared, Jack's breath got stuck in his throat. It was a deep navy with flashes of electric blue when she moved. It was strapless with a wrapped bodice and a skirt that dropped from her hips down to just below ankles, barely touching the floor. A white design applique in the shape of lilies began at her right hip and extended out in swirls of white and crystal. She wore white shoes that had the slightest of heels.

By the time she and Jack were ready to leave, Jack had put on a nice jacket and blue tie, as well as the same shoes he had worn to the masquerade. Mim had braided up her hair so that the braids swirled to the top of her head, from which a long ponytail cascaded down in a warm highlighted chestnut color. Her glass bracelets had turned into a pair of silvery bangles, studded with the tiniest of pearls. She wore a pearl necklace which hung in two strings from her neck. On the bottom one, a silver charm, a snowflake, hung on her collarbone.

Jack walked up and ripped it off.

"Jack! What are you doing?"

"This does not suit you at all." he said, waving the snowflake in front of her eyes. He grabbed the necklace in his two hands. Mim thought he was going to rip that off too. But when he removed his hands, a large ice crystal lay in place of the charm. It could've passed for a diamond, so well was it made. It was quite large.

"Show off."

"Don't complain when I spoil you with gifts." Jack retorted, smirking, "Shall we?"

"We shall."

She took his arm and he threw a snow globe onto the floor.

* * *

Upon first sight, they were in a vast field of short grass and lake on the far edge. But at second glance, it was wonderland of shimmering lights. A food pavilion had been set up, it seemed to be made of living trees. A dance floor was in the center and many were already dancing on it as three musicians produced lilting tunes. A short spirit arrived to greet them.

"Hey who's the doll Jackie boy? The new spirit of beauty? Introduce us, cmon get a hold of your tongue!" He said all of this very fast. Mim grinned nervously.

"Mim this is Mythos, Spirit of Legend and mostly gossip, Mythos, this is Mimic Guardian of Balance and Spirit of Emotions."

"A new Guardian! How come I haven't heard about this?!"

"I wanted to keep her all to myself."

Jack swept Mim up into a dramatic kiss, which she easily melted into. By the time they came up for air, Mythos was gone.

"A kiss in public, Jack?"

"There's a reason, he is a huge gossip. Everyone will know your my girlfriend before we even reach the dance floor." He took her hand and they went to meet up with the other Guardians. After lengthy compliments on each other's outfits, they moved to the dance floor. Tooth had straightened her feathers and put on some of the old Indian jewelry her parents had left her. Bunny wore formal armor, which was bedecked in gemstones and gold. North was in his Christmas attire, which was red and white with a great Russian cape. Sandy looked like himself. He didn't change much in appearance.

Mim and Jack twirled onto the floor. A soft sarabonde flowed from the musicians instruments as they danced, Jack pulled her close as they moved.

"Who are the musicians?"

"Those are the tree Muses. Melod, Tanza, and Theatra. Melod does Music and his sister are the Muses if Dancing and Theater."

"Okay, they seem nice."

"They are, but their arts are VERY important to them."

During the dance, Mim switched partners as the dance required. Many introductions were made. She met Baume, the Spirit of the Forest, who was tall and strong, like the trees he loved to climb. Colton was the Spirit of Animals. His pet dog sat at the edge of the dance floor, watching the moving people.

After several dances, she moved off the floor to go sit by the food pavilion with a small plate of petite cakes and a glass of warm cider with cinnamon in it. A group of 4 spirits approached her. Three of them looked friendly, but the fourth seemed peeved and Mim knew why.

"Hello Zvezda."

"Hey Mim. I hope you're doing well." She simpered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. A long skinny boy elbowed her. He had brown hair that was tinted various shades of red, orange and blonde. A girl with radiant features and shining face wearing a peplum dress, approached and introduced her comrades.

"I'm Pelagia Storme, the Spirit of Summer." Mim shook her hand and saw a sun tattooed on her arm. Her dress was sailor colored with a necklace made of miniature anchors.

"Like the ocean much?"

"Oh yes, quite! You see, I'm a mermaid."

"I see..."

"I'm out of water."

"Oh...right! So sorry, I forgot my brain today!"

Pelagia laughed. She spoke impeccable English, perhaps mermaid language was different from ours. Pelagia motioned to another girl, who wore a Celtic style dress and a leather band, made from knotted cords. She had monarch butterfly wings, but they were bright pink.

"This is Aviva Mariposa, Spirit of Spring. And this is her boyfriend, Lindon Morn, Spirit of Autumn."

She gestured to the skinny boy with the colored hair. He wore khakis with a green button down shirt. His tie had leaves patterned onto it. He smiled and shook hands. He seemed shy. Aviva spoke with a faint Irish brogue.

"It is a pleasure to meet Jack's lady at last."

They conversed for a while. They were all teens. Mim vocalized how surprise she was that there were so many teenage spirits. Lindon explained that unlike Guardians, elemental spirits and seasonal spirits were born like normal humans. The title was an inherited one. They grew up and were raised by season spirit parents. Once the title is passed on, the parents leave their children a disappear forever into the world somewhere. The only person who could recall her parents was Pelagia, because her parents weren't seasonals. The prior Summer Spirit had died before producing an heir. So she had been chosen. Her parents were still alive.

Jack came up behind her and spun her around. Taking her down to the lake he introduced her to the Spirits of the 4 Elements. Mera Bleu was the Spirit of Water. She was a lovely Indian girl who had long, black hair. Fiero Solarion was the Spirit of Fire. He was tall and African. He had a rich voice and he fidgeted with a small flame in his fingers as he spoke. Strata Aeron was the Spirit of Air. She was delicate in appearance. She was Chinese, with her dress in the traditional style. Root Terran was the Spirit of Earth. He had a feather in his hair, which was tied back and long. His Native American attire included moccasins and furs. He gave Mim a small totem Pole that was 6 inches high.

"It's lovely, thank you!"

He nodded meaningfully.

There were so many spirits to meet. Tempro was the Keeper of the 3 Lights of Time. He was not easy to talk to, as his answers were always vague. Even the Spirit Horse of the Midwest attended. He trotted up and happily took Mim's offer on a carrot. As the sky darkened to blackness, Jack took Mim to a table under a canopy of flowers. They sat and watched the dancers. Their hands interlocked and they enjoyed the whole glorious scene. Eventually they stood and walked together for a while. Jack put his arm around her.

The Seven Deadly Sins were there too. Lust eyed them but a look from Mim shut her down hard. They received many congratulations on their relationship and many were eager to meet Mim, who turned out to swim easily through social waters. At Midnight, the canopy of flowers burst and dropped all of it's petals. Jack picked out the petals that had settled on Mim's hair. He kissed her under the shower of flowers and for one night, everything was perfect.

* * *

**A/N: Okay...long chapter. I hope you liked it. Now no one can excuse that they don't know the name of the Spring Spirit. So PM her name and you could win your own one shot...STARRING YOU! I took specific care with the elemental spirits. Racism really bothers me and so I wanted to make sure that a lot races were represented in a positive way. Let me know if there are any you think I should add! Please Review and Read. Next Chapter is the reveal on the title of the next VOLUME!**

**-Mimic**


	15. For Your Ears Only Part 1

"Keep your frozen tongue in that ice cold mouth of yours, before I rip it out!"

"Don't get your cottontail in a twist!"

Jack and Bunny were at it again. No one could remember why they were trying to smack each other senseless. But everyone was tired of listening to the yelling, and how none of them could get a moment of peace. They charged through Tooth Palace, smashed through the Pole and IOSS had multiple sand craters from the impacts of many missed punches.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Mim screamed. She didn't just scream, she turned up the hertz, so that when the sound hits, it HURTS. The sound waves knocked both boys on their butts and shut them up. Bunny's whiskers quivered and shook as her anger made her eyes go red and her fists begin to smoke. Jack just cowered. He knew what Mim was like when she got angry.

"You two have been yelling all day. And Sandy has been trying to convey some very pointed ideas, but his sand keeps getting disrupted, because you two are filling his brains with mindless noise! You are Guardians! Act like it!

Oh, the shame. The Guardians got together to discuss what was to be done about the vast disturbances caused by Bunny and Jack's latest outburst. The final outcome was agreed upon, thanks to a suggestion from Sandy. Jack and Bunny were to be given a potion that would render their voices useless for a full day.

"This is hardly fair, now you guys will just yell in our ears all day!" Jack protested. After much more arguing, Jack accepted the punishment under the condition that all Guardians would be rendered silent for a full day. Save for Sandy. But I mean...it's Sandy.

The following morning, the Guardians queued up for a dose of the Mute-ation Drought. Mim pulled Jack aside as Bunny went in to be silenced.

"I'm not mad at you, but you totally deserve this." She kissed him and trotted through the door.

The first hour of the morning was excruciating. It was uncomfortably quiet, and the only sounds at the Pole were that of the yetis working in the Workshop. Sandy seemed absolutely delighted that he was now the most communicative person in the room. Since no one could speak, everyone was paying him lots of attention. Soon the quiet party broke up and people went to separate sections of the Pole. North wanted to keep everyone in one building since no one could speak. He didn't want any one Guardians to be left vulnerable.

It backfired.

Mim went to her room and stood on the balcony. When Jack went in to "say" hello and maybe have some form of conversation. Mim was gone, and the entire balcony had been ripped off of the wall. He screamed for the other Guardians. We clearly know how that turned out.

He ran into the Globe Room waving his arms. Of course the room was empty. The irony. How was he going to get everyone's attention? He did the one thing he could think of, he froze everything.

When North came into the Globe Room to investigate the dropping temperatures, he was assaulted by Jack engaging in violent charades of movement. He pointed at himself and made a heart. He then captured the imaginary heart in his hands and smiled evilly.

North then responded by writing in the fresh snow on the floor.

_"Mim?"_

Jack followed in his example.

_"Kidnapped."_


	16. Winter Waters (Challenge Winner 1)

**CONGRATS to Kaylee13133 for winning the one shot challenge! Here is a one shot featuring a character of her creation! This could be you next time! :D**

* * *

Mim stood looking out over the Ocean. The Caribbean waters were crystal clear and empty. The beach was deserted and lonely. The sand dug into her feet and she wiggled her toes with apprehension. She walked forward into the waves and waited as the breaking swells pressed up first against her ankles, then knees, the waist, chest and eventually her shoulders. The water was cool in the late spring season and it had not reached its warm season yet.

Breathing in and out, Mim took one last breath before walking forward once more until the surface glistened just centimeters above her head. As she floated suspended at the mercy of the sea, her legs began to move in unison and she exhaled as bubbles escaped from her lips. Then she inhaled as water flowed past the gills that now frilled from her ribs, and her tail stirred the fine sand of the sea floor.

Diving forth into the ocean's true depths, she headed South. After spending and hour or so in the Library at the Pole, she had a course in mind. Mim planned to intercept a pod of merfolk who were moving North to their summer waters in the cooler waters north of the equator. They never went farther north than the Bahamas so she had to move fast before they reached the Great Ocean Conveyor, a strong current, which they took every season.

As the waters turned from azure blue to more of a deep sea blue, Mim changed the color of her tail to a darker hue. She was seeking out merfolk, and she didn't need any sharks seeking out her. As the sun rose past noon and into the midday heat, she spotted her quarry. A pod of 50 or so merfolk was moving in a large mass which was cleverly shaped like a large fish, to intimidate predatory creatures of the depths.

Now came the tricky part. Human speech was possible, but ineffective as that spectrum of sounds did not get heard well underwater. Seas creatures usually use wavelengths of very high pitch or very low. Mim cleared her throat, a weird sensation to an above-water creature. Then she sent out a call in a high register that was almost like singing. A merman in the fin of the great fish formation turned her way. He eyed her for a moment, then took a horn from a bag at his waist and blew three short blasts! The fish dissolved until the merfolk were spread out into groups that seemed to be families or friends.

The chief of the pod approached and looked at her with large eyes that bore into her. He spoke in mermish, slowly and deliberately.

"Hello, stranger. Why have you hailed our pod?"

Mim thought for a moment and spoke carefully, working to correctly use the complex grammar of mermish.

"I am Mim" she said, but it came out Kik, since the letter M is not heard underwater or in their language.

"I have come from the Place of No Water to ask for help." The chief raised an eyebrow.

"You say you come the Place of No Water, yet you have flippers and none of the long two appendages." he said. Other merpeople glanced at her tail questioningly.

"I am a spirit. I have the power to change my outside." Mim fumbled not knowing the word for shape shifter.

"Ah a spirit! One of the moon beings. And you are an Ankrighresh (An-kree-gesh)" he said, smiling now and leading her into the pod.

"Thank you for welcoming me Leader. I would like to take a mermaid to the Place of No Water..."

* * *

Jack picked up the note left in his room. He followed the directions, going down many flights of stairs until he was in the 3rd basement level of the North Pole. It was not uncomfortably warm but it was not particularly chilly to his liking either. He wrested open a large heavy door. He was in a room with a large rectangular swimming pool. Mim sat on the side dipping her feet in.

He walked over and was about to freeze her feet when...

"Don't even try. The water is unfreezable."

"How do you always do that!" Jack said, disappointed at the loss of a good laugh.

10 minutes later, Jack was in swim shorts and Mim was in a bathing suit as she shoved him towards the edge of the stair to the water. He resisted to the best of his abilities but he could do nothing when Mim had made lava hands which she threatened to push him with.

"I won't do it! I won't I won't! You can't make me!"

"You sound like a five year old." Her hands became flesh again and she grabbed his hand, dragging him the last 4 feet to the stairs.

"You need to learn how to swim!" Mim insisted.

"It was never a problem!"

"Until you thought the Sins had hidden Jamie at the bottom of the sea!"

Jack flushed a shade of fuchsia and Mim's face softened. She gently pushed him into the shallow end which rose to his chest. Mim dunked her head and came up next to Jack. He stood there dumbly as she dove under again. When she breached the surface once more, she was with someone else. A girl who looked about their age with long blond hair with green streaks floated by her. The girl was short, but a teal mint green tail made her appear longer and more graceful.

"This is Anna Katfish Kate. She is here to teach you how to swim."

Anna waved and flipped her tail amiably. Jack was terribly nervous. Her green eyes blinked as she looked at him both above and below water. Her skin was well tanned and a circlet of shells perched on her brow. In the middle and emerald sparkled. She popped up and in a bubbly manner she spoke.

"Ready to begin?"

Jack nodded slowly and as Anna pulled him to a wall, Jack grabbed Mim's hand as he passed, dragging her along. Anna placed his hands on the wall and pushed up his legs so that his heels were just below the surface.

"Kick." she said with a smile.

"Not very talkative are you?" Jack tried to relieve his nerves by talking.

"Merfolk cannot speak in no water without these." she pointed to the gem on her tiara. Her words were clear but her voice was low pitched or high pitched at alternating intervals. "Now kick!"

Jack complied. She guided him on how to properly kick his legs. He was a quick learner, saying that maybe he must've known how to swim when he was human. After kicking Anna tried to teach him to submerge his head, but he blatantly refused. until she splashed him in the face with her dark green flippers.

"See! Your face is wet, you hold air and you don't die, you stupid iceberg." she spoke in heavy sarcasm.

Jack took a deep breath and went under. Memories flooded in of his first moments as a spirit and he scrunched up his eyes as he thrashed. Strong hands lifted him into the sweet breathable air. Anna released him and told him kindly:

"Again."

She continued to say that until he could submerge and not have a fit. She then made him move above water in smooth strokes. She was quick to correct him of he made any mistakes.

"Do not fight ocean. Ocean will win, let her push you along."

There was so much for him to learn. They had a few close calls when he had overestimated his breath during a dive and Anna dragged him, tsk-ing and telling him to listen to his lungs for Neptune's sake!

When they covered how to fight waves, Anna's tail wasn't flat enough or wide enough to make swells, like open ocean mermaids, so Mim shifted and created waves of up to 5 feet in height using a little bit of water manipulation. Jack got shaken up a bit but he soon grasped the pattern of dive through, surface, breathe, repeat. The day wore on as Anna made sarcastic comments that kept the atmosphere light and good hearted.

As she swam beside him as he did a few laps he asked a few questions.

"I know another mermaid. She speaks very well. Not to say that you don't! She is the spirit of Summer."

"The Open Ocean folk have had the most human contact, They speak Air Breather tongues well. That and the Warm Season Spirit has spent much time with no fins folk."

"What do you mean Open Ocean folk?"

"There are many types of merpeople. There are the great nations of the Open Ocean. Atlanteans and large cities lying on the ocean floors. They have kings and queens and castles and such things. I am of the Nomadic Carib Tribes. We stay in the clear sun waters that are warm and with much life. We have chiefs and pods and respect that dictates our society. Then there are the Arctic Mermish Folk. They are whale hunters who live in underwater ice caves. Their lives depend on the hunt. They are often at war with one another over disputes between the noble families. The Mermaids of the East, close to the Great Place of No Waters, have a very class based society. Those at the top have finery and jewels, the lowers follow them in admiration. They have strong magics there. Then there are the Deeps."

The Deeps?"

"We do not speak of them often, considering them the shame of our species. The Darklings dwell in the blackest depths of the Ocean. They are savage and cruel. They will hunt and eat anything that they can find. And myths of old say that the most of terrible of them ride the Goblin sharks. In the days when the Oceans were much larger, a few would sneak to the places of the sea where the light touches and steal young merfolk, dragging them down. But that was so long ago that many wonder if they have died out. Apart from sharks, they our a mermaid's greatest fear. The stuff of nightmares."

"I can imagine." Jack said.

Mim popped up beside him, sporting a tale of her own. She kissed Jack on the cheek and smiled. They ladies spoke of Jack's progress as he swam for a while longer. Anna shared some of the customs of the water world as Mim shared the culture of the legged creatures, as merfolk referred to land-dwellers.

Anna asked if she might remain on the land for a while longer to explore and report back to her own people with great tales of her adventures. Mim agreed but reminded her that many do not believe that merfolk exist, and Anna agreed not to tell. It would disrupt the peace, she said.

Anna left the pool, and Mim assisted her in how to walk properly since her attempts looked like a greatly exaggerated swagger. Perhaps that was how they were depicted to merpeople? When Mim returned, she couldn't find Jack in the water. She looked at the bottom of the pool for his white hair. Had he drowned?

A freezing hand grabbed her ankle and she tumbled into the pool!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Jack laughed hysterically. He had gotten a good laugh today after all! Mim hugged him as they tread water.

"Told you it would be all right. You're doing this again tomorrow."

"Shut up."

* * *

**A/N: YAY! My first one shot challenge completed. I issue a new one for the readers who care:**

**Who was Lady Dark married to?  
(You wanna check the MImpossible Files.)**

**Winner gets a one shot!**

**-MIMIC**


	17. For Your Ears Only Part 2

The Guardians were in panic mode. They had overcome many challenges before, but silence was crippling them. Sandy rounded everybody up. Jack paced around and around, mouthing words that no one could hear and twisting his hands on his staff. The air chilled and soon, the others could see their breath appearing in mist before their eyes. Bunny put his hand on Jack's shoulder and turned him around. His stern green eyes told Jack that he needed to get a grip.

Tooth had stopped hovering. She pointed to the Globe. No lights were flickering, that was at least a good sign. Whoever had kidnapped Mim was likely to have done so out of revenge instead a grab for power. North had gone to examine the crime scene. Sandy and the others were brainstorming ideas as to who could have taken her. The list was enormous, everyone had seen her at the Spirit Ball. Pitch was confirmed as Detained and The Sins would have bragged about it by now.

North walked into the room. He motioned for the others to follow him. The other 4 opened their mouths, but North held up a hand to stop what would have been their silenced inquiries.

Mim's room looked untouched save for the balcony that had been ripped off the wall. North pointed down, out the window. Everyone looked over the edge, a dizzying 100 meter drop to the ground below. The balcony lay in shambles in the snow. But North motioned spastically at the ground. Sandy was a much better silent communicator and took up North's idea with his sand. He showed footprints, but then crossed them off. _No_ _footprints. _Not even a blemish on the snow that Jack had place two days ago.

Tooth seemed still confused. She pointed to her wings and flew a bit around the room.

_They could've easily flown. Many spirits can._

Bunny picked the evidence up from there, by holding up one paw and pointing to the balcony. He held up the other hand and pointed to her wings. He put his hands together and shook his head from side to side.

_If they can fly, then why rip the balcony? Why not just swoop down and snatch her?"_

The wheels in Jack's head were spinning. Mim was always much better at this, making connections. He tried to imagine what she'd say: Find me. You can do it. Don't just...freeze.

FREEZE! That was it! They were at the North Pole and it was polar outside. They couldn't walk without leaving prints, and most spirits wouldn't get far in this chill, even though Mim would be fine. They could fly but even then the cold would inhibit most as he had created a windstorm during his fight with Bunny.

He looked down out the window once more. There was one difference in the snow. It was ignored because it wasn't an imprint or indent of any kind. It was a pillar of ice and snow that extended almost to where the balcony would be. As far as Jack knew, only two spirits could make that happen. He dove out of the window and flew down to the ground. Using Wind, he cleared all the snow by the pillar away until the was only the ice.

Using his own magic, he made the ice clear and see through. The pillar was hollow...and it led down. Zvezda hadn't escaped with Mim, she hadn't gone anywhere, she was just below them. He sent up a firework to the others. Once they all made it down. Jack stabbed the pillar with the end of his staff. It fissured and cracked. The combined force of Bunny and North, knocked it down and exposed the slide that plummeted into the ice below.

With a few determined looks, they hopped in one at a time, Jack taking the lead. He stretched out through the ice, feeling with it and he guided the Guardians past all sorts of icicle spikes and gaps in the system before they slid haphazardly into a large empty ice chamber.


	18. For Your Ears Only Part 3 Final

It was cold...very cold. The chamber they stood in was a sphere with tunnels leading off into 4 directions. Jack iced skates onto everyone's feet and each took a tunnel. Jack in one, North in the next, Tooth and Bunny in the other, and Sandy in the last. The tunnels wound and twisted with loops and sharp turns and no one was positive as to where they were headed.

Tooth and Bunny's tunnel led to an empty room. As they skated in the tunnel sealed behind them. The walls began to slide and close in. In the wall to their left, the ice was clear and they could see Mim in a room with Zvezda. Mim was in a ball of ice, from which she desperately tried to escape. She was a living ball of fire, but the ice wouldn't melt. She had a pick but the ice wouldn't crack. She was clearly getting exhausted as her flames began to flicker until she was struggling to produce sparks.

Tooth and Bunny were standing close together as the walls closed in. They were back to back and stood close to the window of ice. It was getting too close for comfort.

North's tunnel also led to an empty room. He looked up and saw Mim and Zvezda above him. Zvezda sat on a throne on ice and Mim was pounding on the ice. She was getting cold. Too cold. Her final option was to go into ice form. Mim knew that her ice would be useless against an actual winter spirit...but it was that or freeze.

North watched curiously but his thought process was disturbed. His floor was also clear, but underneath was a bed a icicles, razor sharp. Not only was the floor clear, but it was also cracking. Fissures slowly creeped until the center of the floor was a network of slivers that would collapse at the slightest provocation. North retreated to a corner and watched for signs of his friends helping him. He saw Bunny & Tooth smooshed together as the walls closed in. The cracks were creeping closer.

Sandy slid into a third empty room. To his right he saw Mim and Zvezda. Mim was sitting in her cage, and she seemed to be meditating. She was probably trying to maintain ice form as the temperature in the throne room dropped ever lower. As Sandy pondered these things, the walls shifted and opened, revealing a wall of icicles. It didn't move. But there was a hissing sound and then an icicle was lodged in the window of ice, right by Sandy's ear. He put up a wall of ice, but it soon battered with icy arrows. He frowned in concentration as he abandoned the wall and began to slice the arrows out of the air with his whips.

Zvezda sat still on her throne. She was focused on controlling the adjacent rooms which contained the Guardians. But Jack was missing and when he skated into the throne chamber, Zvezda rose from her magic and stood. The trapped Guardians were given a reprieve from their grim circumstances. Tooth and Bunny were compressed side by side so tightly that they struggled to inhale. North was confined to a corner as the cracks stopped a mere feet from his boots. Sandy was able to catch his breath.

Jack glared furiously. He skated at top speeds for Mim.

"Uh-uh..."

Zvezda slid Mim's cage away to the other side of the room. The jolt knocked Mim from her intense focus and threw her into the wall of the cage, knocking her unconscious. Jack's rage began to grow. But he kept his mouth shut tight. He couldn't speak anyway.

"No words for me today Jack? A shame. But I hate to dawdle, so here is your choice: Your friends or you lady love."

Zvezda returned to her throne and fell once more into a stupor as she worked her magic. Sandy was being fired at once more, Tooth and Bunny were crushed and North's position on the ice was getting more unstable. Jack could easily smash the window of ice free all of them. But the unconscious Mim was being held upright and her cage was filling with snow and quickly. If it climbed to high, she would suffocate.

Jack faltered and twitched about. He was trying to figure out a way to save them all at once but he was running out of time. Sandy was tiring, North was losing his footing as sections of the floor gave way and Tooth and Bunny pressed the walls with what strength they had left. But the snow was at Mim's shoulders and still rising.

He couldn't think! What was he supposed to do? What would they want him to do? Mim would want to die since the Guardians were needed to the children. The Guardians would save Mim since they always wanted him to be happy. Jack stared at Zvezda who defined the meaning or cold and heartless. He was about to lose them all...

Jack shot Zvezda who was unaware in her magical trance. She collapsed on her throne and all ice actions that she was controlling ceased. The walls stopped moving, the floor stopped cracking, the arrows stopped firing and the snow stopped. Jack sprung the older Guardians by shattering the windows of ice from which they had observed the whole affair.

They pat him on the back, grateful, but also proud of how he had handled the ultimatum.

Mim came too as he pulled her from her snowy prison. She was still dazed and she held onto Jack as she regained her senses. Since she had been asleep, her shifting had stopped and now she was feeling the cold. Jack shook her, and as she realized the circumstances she shifted into winter form once more. Jack pulled her into his arms and held on tight.

Since Zvezda was not here to maintain the icy structure of the chambers. They began to collapse. Chinks of the ceiling fell into the chamber. North grabbed Zvezda as everyone raced for the tunnels. Jack did his best to recreate support in the caves, but he was just not fast enough. But they made it to the surface just as the pillar broke and fell in pieces to the snow. Everyone breathed heavily as they all started laughing. Mim laughed first. At first everyone looked at her as if being on ice had made her suffer brain damage, but then Jack joined in. Their silence drained away as the potion wore off as the sun set.

How could anyone laugh in a situation like that. Well, they were Guardians. Danger, action and risk was part of the job. What can they do but enjoy it.

* * *

**A/N: How was that? Nice little arc right? Leave comments. Otherwise Kaylee13133 will win all the oneshots! **

**ONESHOT CHALLENGE: Who did Lady Dark marry before she became a spirit?**

**-MIMIC**

**PS: Should I do a Halloween chapter?**


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